The Price of Bonds
by Tyrannogorgeous
Summary: Natsu is haunted by nightmares of his father, Gray must come to terms with a frightening reality, Mira is battling her own personal demons, and Happy wants nothing more than to give Carla the perfect fish. Important Note: This story deals heavily with current events in the manga. Those who wish to avoid spoilers should avoid this story.
1. Night Terrors

Howdy doody, anonymous readers!

Today I present, for your viewing pleasure, a plot bunny that has been driving me mad the past few weeks. I've followed it through rabbit holes, tea parties, unbirthday parties, and be-headings, and I'll lose my own head if I don't put it in writing. Since I very much like my head (It's where I keep my hats), I'm determined to follow this unto fruition. I figured that since I'll be doing this anyway (And loving it, because everything is better with love!) I might as well put it up for the rest of you to appraise, approve, or abhor at your whimsy.

First thing to note, and this is most likely the thing that concerns the lot of you reading. Regarding pairings, I have a general idea on how they are going to work. With that in mind, I have no intention on telling you what ANY of them are, because then the glorious sexual tension will not be nearly as tense! You'll know who ends up with who already and that's simply no fun. Feel free to ask, and I may just answer with a quizzical riddle that might or might not help you. Did I tell you I am a lion from below the neck?

Second Note which, oddly enough, is a modifier to the first. Lemon... I shall not do it. Not only do I prescribe to the belief that the imagination is vastly superior to the written word (and such the story writer guides the reader, but does not limit them) I... also choose not to preach about my reasons for not doing them. THEY JUST MAKE ME FEEL ICKY, OKAY?

Third Note, in regards to update scheduling. I have none planned for the moment. I haven't yet determined what schedule I operate under and it would be unfair to the ten or so readers to promise them a schedule I couldn't possibly stick to.

Finally, Assuming you read the above notes, I humbly ask you to do that A/A/A thing I talked about earlier. Review! Message me! Hell, Flames at least say you bothered to open the story up! I need your feedback to fine tune my craft, and it gives me warm fuzzies to know that you care!

So with that, I give you... The Price of Bonds.

**Fairy Tail and all related subject matter are the sole property of Hiro Mashima**

**Chapter 1: Night Terrors**

_The air was thick and oppressive, a sweltering miasma that burned the lungs with each breath. Ash hung in heavy clouds, stinging the eyes and throat. The only things visible through the cinders were the black obelisks dotting the landscape, the charred remains of a lush, verdant forest. Even the soil was scorched. Nothing living remained. _

_Almost nothing. This was a battlefield, and the battle continued._

_The wind shifted, stirring the stagnant air back into frenzy. As the visibility cleared, two massive forms came into view. They stood across from one another, poised on all four of their enormous limbs. One of the titans allowed a snarl to escape from behind the fangs he was baring. His shoulders were bunched; eyes narrowed, wings shifting uneasily, limbs trembling. He tilled the ruined earth with his talons, flexing with anticipation. The multitude of scars proudly adorning his body swelled and seethed as his muscles tensed, and the orange glow of the burning horizon lit his crimson scales ablaze. _

_Opposing him was one that was larger. It stood tall, defiant and relaxed, its amused posture serving as a telling insult to the ruby warrior. Inhuman jaws gaped in an attempt to mimic a sneer before closing again with a thunderous rumble of irreverence. The flippant demeanor belied a tangible malice, intent as black as its Stygian hide. _

_The red dragon replied with draught of zealous flames. The destructive beam tore through the haze and bathed the wastes in a righteous glow. The black dragon vaulted to the side before spreading its wings and taking to the air. The red dragon followed suit, springing from the earth and into the sky. He chased, intense jets of flame erupting from his maw whenever the monster grew too complacent with its position. The black dragon weaved around each and every volley but refused to return any of its own. The message was clear. He was tired, it was not._

_Their struggle had become a war of attrition and he was losing. The demon would play with him in the meantime, and finish him once he wore himself out. It was as insolent as it was unnatural, and the red dragon's fire only intensified to avenge his wounded ego. There was a simple but elegant counterstrategy, however. He just had to tear its throat out while he still had the energy. All that he needed was a healthy hit to knock it to the ground, and then he could finish it. Both the battle and the beast._

_His fire lit up the sky once more. _

_When the orange glow died down, there was one lone dragon in the sky, teeth and claws coated in blood. It folded its evil black wings into a dive, pursuing the wounded creature as he plummeted toward earth._

"**GAH!**"

Natsu jerked awake, breathing frantically and soaking wet. He swiveled his head around in panicked spasms, running his fingers along his scalp to clear the dampened hair from his eyes when…

"Natsu?"

He heard a tiny, shaken voice above him. Happy was floating above his bed, bucket trembling in hand. He looked worried, but Natsu couldn't figure why. He was fine, wasn't he?

"Awwwwww! What the **hell,** Happy?! Now my bed's all wet!"

"But Natsu..."

"Who douses a guy while he's sleeping anyhow? Why'd you do that, huh?"

"You were…"

"..Ya' could a' just woke me up! You didn't need to..."

"FINE! I'll be sure to be more_ considerate _the next time you LIGHT YOUR BED ON FIRE!"

Natsu's mouth snapped shut abruptly and his eyes immediately darted to the furniture in question.

Happy hadn't been lying. His sheets had been torched, the pillow roasted, and the mattress was near flambéed. There was man-shaped silhouette burned into the fabric, where he had been laying, and several deep black indentions where he'd been gripping the mattress during his fitful sleep.

Natsu's eyes found Happy again. The little guy was still there, clinging to the bucket with watery eyes and a trembling lip. He was really freaked out by this. Natsu didn't blame him… This hadn't happened before. And then he'd gone and yelled at him, too, when he'd probably woken up to the sound of his roommate combusting. Brilliant. He had to fix this.

Natsu scratched at the back of his head bashfully, eyes darting around his smoky living quarters. How had he missed this? The smell was excusable; the comforting scent of ash followed him wherever he went, so he quickly learned to tune it out so it wouldn't interfere with his sense of smell. But all this smoke? The smog was so thick that he couldn't be sure if Happy was crying out of worry or ash in his eyes. Maybe the others were right. Maybe he was an idiot.

"Aw… I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I don't know how it happened."

He reached up and gently took the bucket from the little Exceed's paws, putting down beside the bed. Happy took that as an opportunity to collide face first with Natsu's chest, fisting his paws into Natsu's shirt. He sniffled a little, trying to keep his snot in his nose and off of Natsu's shirt.

"Well, you did! I thought… You just burst into flames… I th-thought…"

Natsu put his arm around his tiny blue shoulders and gave him a brief, encouraging squeeze.

"I'm okay, Happy…Really."

"Really?"

"Of course, Really! I'd never lie to my little buddy. I just had a nasty dream. It scared me, is all."

Happy looked up at him and shot him a cheeky grin. "A bad dream, huh? What was it about? Do tell!"

Natsu scratched his cheek absently, drifting back to the Forest of Embers and the two dragons locked in battle. "It was about Igneel…"

Happy's face fell, whatever snarky comment he was preparing immediately dying on his tongue.

"Igneel?"

Natsu often dreamt of Igneel. Often it was a dream that he wouldn't willingly wake up from. He'd find Igneel; introduce him to Happy and the rest of his comrades, beat Erza and Gildarts before punching Gray in the face and flying off into the stars with his father, laughing like a lunatic. But far too often he dreamt of the day Igneel left. He would go through that bitter revelation with startling intensity, as if it were the very day it'd happened, before he would wake up and find that he was dreaming. Neither dream had been particularly pleasant upon waking, but he couldn't really call them nightmares. One was a wish and the other was a memory, but neither were nightmares.

This had been.

"Yeah… He was fighting Acnologia. He was losing."

"Oh…" Happy laughed nervously, "Well, it was just a dream right?"

Natsu looked at Happy curiously before giving him a childish grin of his own.

"Yeah! Just a stupid dream! Igneel'd kick Acnologia's ass easy! Now what do you say we go rustle up some grub before we head to the guild. That sound good?"

"Aye, Sir!"

Good. He didn't want Happy to worry about him any more than he already was.

* * *

The guild was rather sober when Natsu arrived. It was early, and not that many people were there at the moment, and the circumstances weren't the greatest, but still… it always unsettled him. He surveyed the hall, trying to take a quick tally of the occupants and their activities, before continuing on with his business for the day. Mira was here, as always, waiting tables with a smile. Natsu couldn't help but shoot her one of his own. He admired what she was doing. Her siblings had accompanied her this morning, as usual. Elfman was talking quietly at a table with Macao and Wakaba, while Lisanna attempted to help Mirajane with her load. Cana was perched on the bar counter, barrel in her lap, taking vigorous sips between breaths. Natsu stopped at that thought. Maybe it was the other way around. He craned his neck further, but he couldn't see them. As hard as he looked, he couldn't see any of his team. A quick whiff confirmed it. None of them were here. He should have expected that, though. Erza was probably out on a mission again, and Lucy was rarely out and about this early. Gray was probably locked in his house still, but Natsu didn't blame him. There were times where he'd needed his own space too. Gray would work things out for himself. Finally Natsu's eyes fell on little Wendy, in a subdued conversation with Carla and Lisanna at a table near the bar.

Happy zipped right past him, zooming towards Carla with a beautiful trout in his paws and a ridiculous grin plastered to his face. As expected, she immediately denied the fish before turning back to whatever she had been doing that Happy 'so _rudely_ interrupted' with his gift. Natsu just shook his head piteously. She had no idea. Happy had spent 20 minutes combing through all the fish in the market for the 'perfect fish' for Carla. He'd eyed them all with an appraiser's scrutiny, judging them on the perfection of their scales, the give of their flesh, and whether their aroma captivated him properly. That fish had been meant to not only express what he thought of Carla, but to also share himself with her. And she had missed it. Just like she always missed the dejected look on his face when he turned away from her callous dismissal.

Natsu walked over to Happy, patting him on the head before whispering, "Don't worry buddy, it just wasn't the right fish."

Happy beamed up at him. "Aye!"

Natsu nodded with a dumb grin of his own before proceeding toward the staircase. He hadn't been lying to the little guy. He was just non-committal in regards to which fish he was referring.

He shared a look with Wendy, before looking at her with the stupidest silly face he could muster. Her childish giggles had him smiling genuinely. He smiled at Lisanna before proceeding towards the stairs. Not halfway up the flight, Mira called after him. "Master's not here Natsu. He's gone to a convention with the other Guildmasters."

Not here, eh? Damn.

"When's he coming back?"

Mira's smile remained unchanged. It didn't fool him, but it was a nice effort. The stiff posturing of the other guild members was far easier to read. "He failed to say. Probably didn't know, himself. What's so important?"

"Nothing, just had to talk to him about something. It'll keep for now."

"What was it?" Mira asked, voice and expression the picture of innocence. Bullshit.

Natsu looked at her with the most clueless expression he could muster. "What was what?"

Mira's eyes closed for a second, and then she shook her head and turned back to her business. Macao picked up where she left off.

"What did you need to see him for?"

"See who for?"

"**THE MASTER!**" Half the faces in the guild were turned to him, eyes brimming with annoyance and disbelief. Natsu couldn't believe it himself. They seriously thought he was this stupid? They were the ones who couldn't take a hint. He gave them a cheeky grin in reply.

"Nothing important."

A mass groan shook the support beams of the newest iteration of the Fairy Tail guild hall. Natsu caught Lisanna looking at him with a knowing smile of her own before turning back to Wendy and Carla.

"Natsu had a bad dream, and he nearly burned the house down. Lucky for him, this devilish feline was there to save the day." Happy added helpfully, looking up from his fish and shooting Carla a waggling eyebrow.

And just when Natsu thought he was out of the woods, too. He slapped his hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to rewind time, or otherwise undo what had just been done.

"Bad dreams? Bad dreams are for the weak. Man up, Natsu," Elfman replied, spitefully. The rest of the guild grumbled similar sentiments, unamused with such an anticlimactic answer to an intriguing question. Gajeel, boots kicked up in one of the darker corners of the guild just laughed his ass off.

"Poor baby," He snorted to Pantherlily, just loud enough for another Dragon Slayer to hear.

Natsu gritted his teeth, eyes alight with fiery anger. He trudged toward Gajeel with violence in mind when, suddenly, a clatter silenced the guild.

Mirajane stood, dumbstruck, with the platter of food and drinks she'd been carrying splattered about at her feet. She held her right arm gingerly, trying to arrest the slight trembles before she realized that the rest of the guild was watching her. She bent over quickly and picked up the assorted plates, cups and utensils before flashing the whole guild a splendorous smile.

"Oops? I tripped. Don't worry guys. I'll be more careful!"

Natsu watched her go, eyes focused and mouth a hard line. Then turned back to the rest of the guildhall to see them just as worried and confused as he. He smirked. This was not okay.

Natsu reached for the nearest chair. Igniting it with his bare hands, he pelted the dumb Metalhead in the face with it before kicking a table at Elfman. Macao and Wakaba were acceptable casualties. By then Gajeel had picked up what was left of his dignity and was trying to force his iron fist through Natsu's pancreas, while Elfman, Macao, and Wakaba attempted to get to him first. Natsu just cackled wildly, throwing Elfman into Bickslow, and rubbing Gajeel's face into Reedus' paint pallet. By then, enough wild haymakers and misaimed projectiles had been thrown to start a full-on bar brawl, and Natsu couldn't be happier.

That was more like the Fairy Tail he knew.


	2. The Price of Bonds

Hi guys! Me again!

First order of Business. I appreciate those few who read the last chapter almost as much as I'll appreciate the ones who read this one. Sursly.

Second, To my Reviewer, I thank you. I'm glad you liked my portayal, and I hope that you continue to.I also hope many more join you in their approval. As a gift to you, I upload this chapter. (Note: I was planning to anyway, but your review made me want to.)

More Notes! Honestly, I swear I'm not shamelessly padding my word count! I invite you all to review! I need to know if anyone is out of character, or my grammer is off, or if I'm a big stinky doodoo head who doesn't know plot from a hill of beans.

Now... Back to the Price of Bonds.

**Fairy Tail and all associated concepts are propert of Hiro Mashima.**

**Chapter 2: The Price of Bonds**

While Natsu was at the guild, stomping on Elfman's face and punching Wakaba in the beard, Lucy Heartfilia was at home, navel-gazing.

She lay prostrate upon her bed, with a tarnished piece of metal held delicately between her fingers. She cradled the ruined gold object, attempting to fill it with all the love she had failed to express when it was still possible. She bathed in the memories, seeing interactions with friends, now out of reach, in a new light and feeling an even greater loss because of it.

It was her father all over again.

The repetition of events only served to compound her grief. The similarities reminded her of her failure to tell her father how much he meant to her, reopening an old wound she'd tried to forget. She could have salvaged their relationship somehow… If only she'd been less egotistic. Her father had died, without knowing his daughter loved him because she was too proud to tell him. The incident with the dragon was not an excuse. It was an example. She took for granted that he'd always be there, and that she could tell him whenever she wanted. And then, one day, he wasn't, and she couldn't.

She hadn't learned anything.

She flopped over onto her back, sighing heavily. A week and a half had passed since Tartarus' assault on Magnolia. They'd rebuilt the guild hall _again_ and tried to pick up all the pieces after that _disaster_. She'd been given eleven days to heal, to recover. But mending disrupted lives was proving a lot more difficult than replacing a guild hall, or repairing a town.

She lifted the golden remains of the key into the sunlight shining in through her window, twirling it between her thumb and pointer and studying it meticulously with a neutral expression. It glittered weakly in the light. Her hand closed around it before letting the chain pull it back down to her neck.

The key was never so precious to her before that she'd wear it like a pendant. It was even less valuable now that it served no function. But she cherished it more than anything else she owned, because it was all she had left of a friend. Of Aquarius. And in that way, it also became a symbol of all the other people she lost, like Aquarius and like her dad. So she held onto it dearly, so she might still hold onto them.

Was this the price of bonds? Was such brief happiness worth such suffering and grief when they were severed?

She twisted again, this time with much less energy, and curled into a loose fetal position, arms and legs left limp and lifeless in front of her. With her back to the window, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She had planned to go to the guild today, maybe see how everyone else was doing….

..but she was just so tired.

* * *

The fight had been awesome, and Natsu loved every second of it.

And then Wendy began to cry.

A tiny girl, blubbering into her hands, was all that was required to send the guild's mightiest heavyweights back to their tables, grumbling in shame and disappointment. Elfman kept his head low to avoid any chance of catching Mira's disapproving eyes. Macao apologized under his breath and Wakaba nodded his own sentiments before they both slunk back to their table. There was an expression of regret, in triplicate, echoing from Bickslow's 'babies,' and Freed gave a production of an apology, complete with kneeled declaration of remorse. Gajeel just stalked out the doors, growling incoherent slurs to himself.

Natsu, however, had decided that it was prudent to pout.

He sat, sprawled out with his back to the table and his feet in the aisle, chewing on a cigar. The tobacco stub was something he could abuse without drowning in pre-pubescent tears, after all.

He puffed on it, wondering what was so pleasant about inhaling smoke when the fire tasted so much better. It was in that moment that Wakaba appeared before him, looking downright murderous.

Natsu chuckled nervously, slowly removing the cigar that he'd taken during the fight, and offered it back to the man. There were some battles that you didn't fight and some lines you did not cross. He'd crossed one.

Wakaba snatched it from him forcefully and then lowered himself to Natsu's level, forcing him to make eye contact. "You get away with a lot of shit here, kid," He whispered slowly and clearly, "But touch my cigar again, and I'll… Oh! Hey there, Lisanna!"

He returned to full height and sent the girl a subdued wave before giving Natsu a meaningful look and trudging back to his table.

Lisanna plopped down beside him. "What was that all about?"

Natsu gulped in response. "He was just promising me something."

"Like..."

Natsu shivered a bit. "I dunno. He didn't finish. But I don't think I would've liked it."

Lisanna chuckled at his melodrama. "Well, then don't take his cigar again. I may not be here to save you next time."

"Gloating isn't very heroic, Lisanna." He grumbled out.

"You gloat all the time!"

"I don't gloat! I just tell people how it is. 'How it is' just happens to be that I'm awesome!"

He threw up his hands emphatically. She slapped his thigh lightly to admonish him with one hand, and cover her snicker with another.

"Don't laugh! It's true!"

"Yes, I know. Now stop acting like a baby and tell me about this dream that's bothering you so much."

Natsu examined her face for a second. Her eyes were curious and her smile was soft and reassuring. And she'd known, too! She'd known that, despite all he'd said and done to the contrary, there was something about the dream that had really upset him.

Lisanna's smile grew a little. "Oh c'mon, Natsu! I know you! Bad dreams aren't enough to send you running to the Master."

Crap.

"And then there's the fighting. It had to be bad, to make you so desperate to have it knocked from your head by Gajeel and my brother. God knows, you can't afford the head trauma"

"Gah! Will you stop already?" He threw his hands up in a placating gesture before looking down and appreciating his sandals. "I was gonna tell you later, anyway."

He trusted Lisanna. She was kind, and she was gentle. She teased because she cared, and she would listen to Natsu vent for days if it would help him. And he really needed her ears.

He _was_ shaken up by the dream a lot more than he'd like to admit. And he really needed to talk to someone about it, if only to help him sort it all out. Lisanna was his best option.

When Natsu needed to have a more…_vulnerable _conversation, he went to Lisanna. It had been like that as kids and it was like that now that she'd returned. He thought Lucy was great fun, whether it was with her or at her expense, but she was not one he'd go to when he needed to talk. She had enough to deal with, and she was never overly tolerant of his presence to begin with. Gray, he would never approach outside of a fight and he only went to Gajeel to get _into_ fights. Erza was not even an option, and Gildarts was never here. That left Lisanna.

She was still smiling. Like so many situations before, he took the plunge. Consequences, be damned!

"In my dream… Igneel was fighting Acnologia. It looked like they'd been fighting a long time, too."

He stopped to let her absorb that before continuing. With a silly, worried expression like the one she sported, she'd need the time.

"They were fighting in this burned-down forest… dead trees and ash everywhere. Igneel was worried and tired."

His eyes turned away from her and drifted downward.

"He was losing. Acnologia was gonna kill him, Lisanna."

He closed his eyes.

They shot back open when he felt a squeeze around his hand. She'd taken it. She was looking at him with eyes overflowing with compassion and fire.

"Natsu," she said softly, but with undeniable firmness. "Dreams tell us lots of things. They tell us about ourselves, about our desires and our fears. Sometimes they tell us nothing at all. But they rarely tell us the future."

Her gaze was dragged away by something else. He followed it and saw Mira, struggling with all the drinks she was attempting to ferry to keep up with the sudden jump in demand. She let go of his hand and stood up.

"Don't read too much into this. Igneel is fine."

She left him then, off to help someone else who needed her.

Natsu hoped she was right.

* * *

Lucy awoke to the sound of someone breaking into her house.

She didn't move. They couldn't know they'd woken her up. The element of surprise was her only weapon, and she'd only get one chance to use it.

The shadow of the villain draped over her and extended into the room. Her eyes buzzed furiously within her skull, and her heart raced. One chance.

There was another sound, before the latch that held the windows closed made a soft plink, where it had hit the pane when falling. A slow, soft, eerie creak followed, as the windows were pried open slowly. The shadow's hand moved, raising a small, pointed object to about eye level.

A knife. He had a knife, and he was going to murder her. One chance, onechanceonechanceonechance!

She sprang into action, putting her elbow right into the sick bastard's face. She saw a brief salmon-colored blur before it was gone, toppled out the window.

And then it hit her. Only one person was dumb enough to invade a home in broad daylight, while the owner was still home.

"NATSUUUUUUUUUUU!"

* * *

"I don't know how much more abuse I can take today."

Lucy rolled her eyes. The idiot was really going to play the victim? He'd gotten what he deserved for scaring her like that. "That's what you get, you punk. Next time, knock like a normal person."

After getting his ass thoroughly handed to him (Lucy was extremely self-satisfied with this fact and would make sure to tell the rest of the guild later), Lucy was forced to go drag his sorry butt up two flights of stairs to her room. She didn't think the rest of the neighborhood deserved to hear his moaning.

"I thought we were friends, Lucy. Friends don't elbow each other out of windows."

She had already had enough of this. She didn't have the energy to deal with Natsu's childish games. "What do you want, Natsu."

Natsu stopped what he was doing (READ: Getting Dirt on her Coffee Table and Messing Up her Couch Cushions) and offered her a perplexed stare. "You weren't at the guild," he stated slowly.

"So?"

He said it even slower this time. "You weren't at the guild and its 4:30. You always come to the guild before one."

He had been worried. He had been worried about her and he'd come to check on her. Was this really Natsu? Her heartbeat quickened a little.

"I got bored of waiting, so I decided to come to you!" He said, foolish grin back in place and hands behind his head.

Or….not? He was just trying to alleviate his boredom? Typical.

"I'm tired, Natsu."

His eyes grew a bit desperate and he jerked into a more alert position. "But, Luce! I…"

She kicked his feet off her coffee table, perhaps a bit more viciously than she should have, before putting a finger in his face.

"Listen, I'll say this real slow. I'm TIRED. It's why I was in bed, it's why I wasn't at the guild, and it's why I'm throwing you out of my house. Go be bored somewhere else."

His eyes went cross, trying to lock on to the finger hovering just in front of his nose. If she weren't so pissed, she'd have found it funny. As it was, she wanted to slap him for looking so stupid and cute. But mostly stupid.

His eyes left her finger and found her own. Then the stunned, open mouthed gape that was occupying his stupid face twisted into the most malevolent grin she'd ever seen.

He grabbed the hand and gently pushed it out of his face. "No."

"What."

"No. I'm having too much fun irritating you to give it up now."

"Natsuuuu…." She practically was growling it.

"Luceeee!" He grinned. He thought he was clever. It infuriated her.

"Natsuuuu!" She was getting louder. He was standing now, hand still around her wrist.

"Now get ready, okay? We're gonna go have some fun; get you out of this mausoleum for a little while."

But she liked her mauso…room. She wanted to stay here, in a Natsu-free zone. But he just kept pushing her. She was not in the mood for this. She was just about to open her mouth when she felt him jerk on her arm.

"NATSUUUUUUUUU!"

He went sailing out her window, hand still firmly around her wrist.

* * *

Next time... Why wasn't Happy with Natsu? What does Natsu have in store for Lucy? Plus... MOAR GAJEEL!


	3. Train Wreck

Hello, mis amigos!

I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me this long. I also appreciate the review and the follows. You know who you are and you SHOULD know that you give me the confidence to keep writing.

Now, with this chapter.. I actually stumbled a bit with the plotting. I Know where I want to be, but the route to get there keeps recalculating, so I kept getting turned around for a while. I hope this isn't to shoddy, as a result.

Second order of business. I'm looking for a beta who can tell me which plot points are dumb or when I go to OOC. if any of you know anyone who would be willing, I'd be super appreciative.

Anyway... Back to The Price of Bonds

**Fairy Tail and all Associated themes and ideas are the sole property of Hiro Mashima**

**Chap****ter 3: Train**** Wreck**

"Natsu! Stop! Let. Me. GO!"

Natsu happily dragged Lucy down the sidewalk for about fifteen minutes, deaf to the protests assaulting him from behind. He wasn't really bothered by it. She was usually difficult whenever he tried to involve her in one of his escapades. Liberal use of insults and excessive hitting were some of the things that made his relationship with Lucy unique. Neither ever really hurt him, and he always assumed that it was one of her weird Lucy-isms at work. He never really tried to figure her out. He wasn't sure he could.

"Fuck! Natsu! Let go of me!"

So it was natural that her venomous swearing and the brutal beating his wrist was receiving didn't faze him in the slightest. He just kept on marching ahead, as he often tended to do, with his eyes firmly set upon his goal. He and Lucy were going to go have some fun.

"Ow!"

What? Ow?

"Natsu! You're hurting me!"

Natsu slackened his grip a bit. He must have gotten a bit too excited, forgot to mind the firmness of his grasp.

That's what Lucy wanted.

She took advantage of the relaxing hold, jerking her arm from his hand quickly and emphatically. She rubbed her wrist soothingly, which did not sync well with the mortifying glare that she was directing at him now.

His eyes furrowed. "Hey! You tri…"

"Natsu, STOP! This isn't funny, and I'm not having fun."

This was new. Lucy's eyes and mouth were harsh. He hadn't simply agitated her, as he'd originally intended. It wasn't just getting a rise out of her. He had incited her fury, and he feared he knew why. "Luce, I…"

"I don't _care_ about your reasons. I'm sick of being manhandled by you whenever you feel like it. I'm not some plaything you can drag around whenever you're bored."

He didn't think that about her. "I know that… I was just…"

"I don't think you do! I told you 'no,' Natsu. I told you to leave my house."

He tried to diffuse the situation, "I did!"

It failed spectacularly, and the bomb exploded in his face.

"I hadn't meant for you to drag me with you, and you know it! That's my point, Natsu! You're an inconsiderate child. You don't give a rat's ass about other people's feelings."

Did she really think that about him? He could laugh it off when she called him an idiot. He knew she didn't mean it, at least not in any way that was meant to harm. But this…This was meant to hurt. She was attacking him, and he was utterly defenseless.

"Lucy, that's not fair." He was almost pleading with her to stop. It sounded pathetic to his own ears.

"I. DON'T. CARE!"

That cry, both a command and a plea, was so desperate that it not only silenced Natsu, but every other living thing in the area. It left them in a soundless void.

Natsu blinked at her. Lucy had never screamed at him like that.

"I know what you're doing. You're trying to pretend it didn't happen. That everything is f-_fine!_"

She was crying now. He'd made her cry. If he hadn't felt like a heel before, he did now.

He tried to reach out for her, to close the gap and to provide her any sort of support, but she shrunk from his hands violently.

"But it's not! It happened, Natsu!"

She sniffled to herself, growing quieter as her fury simmered into a cold remorse

"They _died_. Pretending won't fix that. You're just trampling all over their memories and sacrifices by denying it."

Natsu's hands fell to his sides. His eyes tore away from her anguished ones.

"I'm going home. Goodbye…Natsu."

He let her go. He'd tried to help. He'd tried to rescue her. But it only made it worse.

* * *

"I've seen my fair share of train wrecks, but that was on an entirely different level. You really know how to crash and burn, Salamander."

Gajeel had been close enough to hear the explosion. He'd made it there in just enough time to catch the grim aftermath. He'd watched the Fire Dragon Slayer gaping like a gaffed trout with a modicum of pity. The Cosplay Queen had torn into him without a single shred of remorse. She'd also called his hand, and left him standing naked in the street.

Their little lover's spat was so brutal that he, Black Steel Gajeel, felt the need to _intervene_. He couldn't have Pinky fucking things up any worse than he already had. Knowing him, the idiot would probably go running after the poor girl, and get himself ANOTHER tongue-lashing for it.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll let her go."

He was surprised by how defeated the Dragon Slayer looked. He was rooted in the same spot, no intention of moving. He turned to Gajeel with eyes that looked right past him, and into the abyss.

It was damn unsettling, seeing the bastard so out of sorts.

He'd known about the Salamander's plan. He'd heard him come up with it at the guild. He figured that things wouldn't go over well, but he didn't imagine it would be this bad.

Everyone in the guild was attempting to come to terms with the loss in their own ways. Some were drowning in booze, others were trying to put on a brave face for their peers, and others were getting consumed by the work to avoid having time to grieve. Flame-brain had elected to ignore the whole issue by trying to keep things as normal as possible. He was evading it all so that he didn't have to deal with it.

Lucy was the opposite. She was clearly depressed. If the signs alone weren't enough, the girl reeked of it. He could have smelled her from across the street. No doubt, Salamander had too. He must have thought he could pull her into the same blissful denial that he was clinging to. Distract her so that she'd stop thinking about it.

He was an idiot.

Gajeel decided that he should be told he was.

Those lifeless eyes, swirling with the grief and anxiety he was repressing, suddenly ignited at the insult. Fiery hackles rose around his shoulders, and his fist went up in flames.

It was always the same between them. They could never be civil. But that was fine, because Gajeel didn't want to be civil. He wanted to put his boot up the kid's ass.

"Who asked you, anyway?" He was practically spitting at this point. All that emotion that he was feeling had been converted into aggression and it was now aimed solely at Gajeel.

"Nobody asked me. I'm doing a civic duty, saving that girl from your stupid ideas."

"It wasn't stupid! I was trying to help! She needs someone to pull her out of that funk she's in!"

"No, idiot, she needs to figure it out for herself. She needs time to work through it just like everyone else."

Pinky's fire died a little. He was listening? Gajeel didn't think anything could get through to the numb-skull. He'd certainly never seen any evidence to the contrary before.

"Why's it matter to you?" The challenging tone was back, this time marred with a hint of skepticism. A slight nose twitch as well. Salamander had all of his sense trained on Gajeel at that moment. He'd turned himself into a goddamn human lie-detector.

Gajeel winced internally. Lucy's well-being wasn't really all that important to _him_, but it _was_ important to someone who was. But it wasn't a topic he'd be discussing with _this_ bastard anytime soon.

Gajeel locked eyes with him. They held the gaze, a pissing match if there ever was one, before he replied.

"Because I need you _alive_ so that you can tell me about that dream."

Natsu faltered for a second, not expecting such an odd reply, before he suddenly grew even more agitated. "Why the hell would I talk to _you_ about _that_, Rivet-face?"

"Because. I know what you're planning, and I want in."

He growled. "_Hell NO!_ I can't even stand being in the same guild as _you_! Why the _fuck _would I want to share a camp?"

Gajeel bristled. The fool was starting to get under his skin again. If he didn't rein it in quick, and finish this conversation even quicker, they'd be having to rebuild this part of Magnolia all over again.

"Because I can help you, dumbass!" He threw his arms up in exasperation. Even breathing the same air as Salamander was a chore. "Besides…I have a dragon that's missing too. If we find yours, maybe he can help me find mine."

"I thought you didn't care about your dad!"

"I don't! I just don't know how I'm supposed to kick his ass if I don't know where he is!"

The kid was calming down. He was still angry, but he wasn't looking for a fight anymore. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "How do you even know what my dream was about, anyway?"

Gajeel smirked at that. "You're a Dragon Slayer, yah dimwit. You should know better than to talk about anything private in a guildhall occupied by two other Dragon Slayers, with ears just as good as yours."

Salamander colored a bit at that. Then he snorted derisively. "Whatever. You can forget it. You're not coming."

Gajeel didn't even hesitate. He'd had it with this twerp. He hit him so hard it should have sent his teeth rocketing out of his asshole.

The bastard pulled himself out of the wall he'd flown through with an excited smirk. They'd both been looking for a distraction, and they promised each other a great fight.

And this time, there was no weepy little girl to interrupt their fun.

* * *

Lucy stomped down the street, heading towards home and her bed.

She rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear them of all the sadness that had poured out after she'd lost control of her emotions.

She was tired before, now she felt physically and emotionally drained. Her nose was still running, though. So she kept on sniffling.

Stupid Natsu. He was an idiot. An immature idiot with the emotional depth of a brick. He deserved every word. After all, she was just being honest, right?

She wiped at her nose with her arm.

Maybe she had been a little harsh. He may be childish, but he was just trying to spend time with her. He didn't know he was being insensitive, and he hadn't ever had any reason to worry about her reacting like that before. She'd never corrected him before.

She unconsciously reached down to clutch the key hanging around her neck. Her fingers stroked it idly.

She sighed, a forlorn little gasp of air. Just this morning she'd been mourning all of the people she's lost an how she'd failed to establish how much they meant to her and what does she do? She dismisses Natsu for trying to be close to her.

She couldn't believe herself. She'd been trying to hurt him. To scare him away. And he hadn't really deserved any of it. She'd overreacted because she was upset.

As Lucy was silently coming to the resolution to find and apologize to Natsu, a blue and white blur flitted past her and rocketed down the street and toward the market.

"Happy?"

She followed the little Exceed, curious about what he was up to.

When she finally caught up to him, he was perched upon a fisherman's cart examining the day's haul. His tiny blue paw was curled around his itty bitty chin in a cute little gesture of deep thought, but his eyes were determined. The poor vendor was sweating under the intense appraisal of the cat.

His ears twitched, and then he turned around and smiled a large, Cheshire smile at the sight of Lucy approaching.

"Hey, Lucy!"

"Hi, Happy! What are you up to? Grocery Shopping?"

He shook his head childishly. "Nu-uh. I'm here looking for the perfect fish for Carla. She didn't like the last one I brought her, so it must not have been perfect." She smiled sadly at that. The poor cat was so hopelessly smitten. It was adorable and tragic at the same time.

He looked at her quizzically before trying to crane his neck to see behind her. "Where's Natsu? He said he was going to go get you so that you could come help."

The temperature dropped a little with that little revelation.

"What?"

Happy just smiled and lifted a declarative paw. "Aye! He said I needed a woman's opinion if I was ever going to find out what the perfect fish was like, so he went to go get you and told me to meet you two here!"

Oh.

"So where is he?"

"Uh.."

And then a familiar, if slightly downtrodden, voice drifted from behind them. "Sorry, lil' buddy. Lucy didn't feel up to helping us out. Looks like it'll just be you and me. If this don't work we can always ask Lisanna for help later."

Lisanna? Lucy didn't like that idea at all.

Natsu was looking down, embarrassed, so he hadn't seen Lucy yet. He looked scuffed up, and there was plaster all over his clothes. What had happened? It'd only been 20 minutes.

"What are you talking about Natsu? Lucy's right here! We were just waiting on you to show up. You took your sweet time, too."

His head rocketed up, an absolutely ridiculous look of surprise on his countenance.

"Hi, Natsu…." Lucy offered bashfully.

"Hi… Lucy?" He returned with equal parts confusion and remorse.

Then suddenly both said "I'm sorry," at precisely the same time.

Que awkward silence.

Happy, that fabulous feline, was the one to shatter the delicate silence into a million bits.

"This lovey-dovey, kissy face stuff is great and all, but aren't we forgetting why we're here? I have a Goddess to woo!"

Lucy chuckled nervously, and Natsu laughed a glorious laugh of his own.

Once again a perfect team, the three then spent the next hour helping Happy sort through all the fish the fisherman had available. They went through salmon, trout, halibut, walleye, and even a stingray. Happy hefted them all, gauging how well they sat in the hands. He examined how the light reflected from their scales. He stroked each and every one, looking for a fish that felt like velvet. He accounted for any possible merits they might have except for taste. He claimed that he couldn't possibly know what the perfect fish tastes like, yet, without actually obtaining it first.

Natsu, on the other hand, was making a farce of the entire errand. He had put on an air of sophistication and attempted to discuss the finer points of piscatorial culture with Happy and the merchant. Happy would hand him a fish, and expect him to weigh in on it's own individual value, and a mischievous twinkle would glint in the Dragon Slayer's eyes before he delivered a breathy, long winded critique of the poor animal's worth, using no small degree of terms he had probably read within restaurant menu's and reviews. All in all, It was a pretty good rendition of a pretentious arbiter of the gourmet.

"What about this one, Natsu?" Happy's own face was far from innocent. He must have already caught on to what Natsu was doing and was joining in on the fun.

"What? Oh, yes. Yes! I Like this very much. The enrapturing glint of the scales! The transcendent aroma! This is truly a magnificent mackeral! Unparralleled in the quality of it's fishiness!" Natsu had elected to twirl about, fish resting in outstretched palms, as he delivered this glowing commentary. It was his silliest production yet.

Happy snickered before floating up to pluck the fish from his hand. He took on his own overly serious expression as he judged the fish for himself before speaking. "I don't know, Natsu. The weight is off center, and I find the coloring a bit drab. Over all, I find it to be merely an example of exceptional fishiness."

Natsu rested his chin between the crook of his thumb, grunting before nodding vigorously in reply. "Ah. I see that, now that you mention it. A drab fish is certainly not a perfect fish."

"Aye! Oh... And Natsu?"

"Yeah, little buddy?"

"This is a trout, not a mackeral. Some authority you turned out to be. I mean, really? Who get's those confused? uncultured plebians, that's who."

"What?!" You could practically hear his jaw hit the pavement.

It had Lucy nearly in stitches. Happy had outsnobbed Natsu, and it was positively hilarious. It hurt to laugh so much after... after.. after sobbing all morning. Her smile softened considerably after that sobering thought. But watching Natsu 'flounder' to recover his flubbed persona, and Happy continuing to make it harder on him, she realized something.

Yes, loss was sad. It hurt, and you never truly recovered. But though they were gone, the world hadn't ended and they wouldn't have wanted it to. Life was still advancing, and with it came beauty, hope, love, and happiness. All she had to do was live it.

And she would cherish every moment with the ones she had left.

* * *

Eventually the sun started to set.

Lucy watched the poor Exceed's frustration grow. He was quickly running out of fish to evaluate. She decided to intercede, maybe save him the heartbreak that would come with failure.

"Happy. What makes you think Carla would even want any of these fish, anyway?"

She was hoping he'd understand. Carla didn't really want ANY fish from Happy. It didn't matter which definition of "perfect"the fish he offered adhered. Lucy Just wanted to spare him the arduous search for inevitable disappointment.

But Happy had heard a completely different form of advice. The cat looked at her for a beat, as if chewing on her words, before beaming.

"You're totally right, Lucy! I've been looking in the wrong place! The perfect fish wouldn't be here! No way! Maybe you're not as brainless as I thought!"

"Hey!"

But Happy hadn't heard her. Instead, he'd chosen to shoot off down the street, on the hunt again for the perfect fish. "SEEYA TOMORROW, LUCY!"

Natsu laughed, turning to follow the cat home. He waved goodbye himself. "Seeya, Luce!"

She smiled softly in return. "Yeah… Seeya, Natsu."

_And Thank you._

* * *

(A/N: HAHAHA! I bet you all thought you'd get some fluff this chapter, eh? Well...NOPE! You got to earn it! I'm such a tease, aren't I? Anyway... How about a round of applause for Gajeel? I love that guy. He's so badass... and tsundere...but mostly badass.

Next time: Erza makes her first appearance... Oh Lawd.


	4. Titania Erza

Howdy Doody, Guys!

I'm sorry for all this recent inactivity. Work and various family crises absolutely obliterated any momentum I'd built up. It wasn't until this morning that I got any semblance of creative flow back.

As for my reviewer, I thank you for your comments and your advice. It STILL makes me smile, and I'm not just saying this to encourage others to follow your example. I really do love the fact that you enjoy this story I'm crafting.

In other news: Did anyone read this weeks Fairy Tail Chapter? If you did... What'd you think. I was personally very dissatisfied, but that was because I REALLY liked the previous twist regarding Silver's identity. So with regards to that, I guess this story has now become an AU, because I have plotted around that plot point, and unless Mashima wows me this week, I'll continue to do so.

Also, I invite you all who are recurring readers to read the final scene in Chapter 3 Again, as I've made a few additions and alterations to better accentuate the message I was trying to convey. Hopefully it works better now.

Now that all of that's discussed... back to The Price Of Bonds.

**Already said it. This is the Last time. This shit belongs to Hiro Mashima**

**Chapter 4. Titania**** Erza**

Happy was on top of the world.

At first it was a little disheartening. He'd been searching for hours and hadn't found a single fish that was worthy of Carla. Maybe he wouldn't be able to find it? What if it didn't exist?

Or maybe _he_ was the problem, not the fish.

But then Lucy had given him the perfect explanation! It made so much sense! Why would the perfect fish be at a boring, old merchant's cart, where anyone could pick it up? That was stupid!

Happy zoomed back to where Natsu was trailing and circled his head before flying right on past again. He was just so excited, so… Happy! The idea that he hadn't widened his search enough had never occurred to him, and it opened him up to a whole world of possibilities. He'd find the perfect fish tomorrow, and then marry Carla on Tuesday, after going steady for a few days of course, and then they'd have a whole litter and be happy forever!

Happy let an excited giggle escape him and fly off into the setting sun.

He bobbed back to Natsu and plopped down on his shoulder. "Come on, Natsu. It's getting….daaahnnn..dark."

Natsu's eyes furrowed a bit. "Hey! Who was it that we spent hours looking through dead fish for? Sure wasn't me!"

"It wouldn't have taken hours if you could tell the difference between a mackerel and a trout. And Lucy was too busy laughing at you to help."

"Shut up! Lucy wasn't laughing at me! She was just having fun! She thought I was funny!"

"She thought you were stupid."

"What? No she didn't! She knew I was joking!"

"Sure you were, Natsu…"

Happy stifled another yawn with his paw. "Can you light a fire under it? The sun's going down and I'm getting sleepy."

His eyes flicked toward him, and a naughty crocodile's grin broke out on his face. "Interesting choice of words, pal."

"Natsu…"

Fire erupted from his fists, shooting them forward like a rocket and scaring the daylights out of anyone still walking the streets. Happy's howls of terror even provided sufficient sound effects.

The screaming fireball eventually stopped fifteen feet from Natsu and Happy's front door. The fire quickly died out. In its place stood the cackling Dragon Slayer and his blue cat, bristled with fright, chattering and clinging to the kid's vest for dear life.

"D-die! I t-thought I was g-going to _DIE_! _NASTU! _Why'd you do that, huh?"

"You told me to light a fire under it. So I did. That wasn't what you wanted?"

"Of course that wasn't what I wanted! This is why people call you an idiot!"

Natsu just snorted in response, and opened up the door to their home.

Natsu prepared dinner for them, slapping a fish on a plate for Happy and throwing together stew for himself. They ate in silence, mostly because Natsu was a big, stupid jerk and Happy didn't feel like talking to him. He'd found some of his hair singed. SINGED! His beautiful coat had been ruined, for petty revenge and a pun that wasn't even that clever?! Natsu was DEFINITLY a big, stupid jerk.

Eventually the big, stupid jerk stood up and stretched, scratched at his backside like the refined, intelligent creature that he is, and smacked his lips in an oafish gesture of satisfaction. "Whelp, I dunno about you, but today's got me bushed. Ready for bed?"

"Aye."

"Aww. Don't be such a baby. It was just a harmless joke."

"Harmless?! You _roasted_ a few of my hairs! And it could have been so much _worse_! I could be BALD right now, Natsu!"

"I guess you could be," He said nonchalantly, stroking his chin carefully. He shrugged. "Those cooked hairs'll just have to serve as a reminder about what could happen the next time you cross me."

"Not funny!"

"Says you!"

Happy pointed his finger at Natsu threateningly, trying to project a promise of pain onto his tiny, adorable little face. "I'm gonna tell Lucy you were mean to me, and then she'll get that crab guy to shave YOU bald. Then we'll see how funny it is!"

Natsu laughed at that before rubbing Happy's head affectionately and walking right past him, toward the bedroom. Happy watched him go, noting how his eye's drifted over to the wall of mementos they'd been collecting over the years. Many of them were from missions they'd completed with Lucy. Happy knew it. Natsu had to be thinking about Lucy.

"You llllllike her!"

"What do you mean? Of course I do! She's my partner. Now stop being stupid and let's hit the hay."

Natsu was no fun.

The Dragon Slayer flopped onto his bed unceremoniously, before sniffling for a second and groaning in frustration. He'd forgotten about this morning? The mattress was pretty much fine, but the sheets and bed cover were ash. Happy hovered over to the closet, a little alcove carved into a tree trunk that was built into the back of the room, at a rather subdued pace. He pulled out a new set of sheets, and floated over to Natsu with them before finding his own sleeping spot on the sill, by the bed. He yawned to himself and curled up into a little ball on the sill, content to listen to the rustle of sheets being tossed and folded around without any skill or propriety. Eventually, the lights turned off and he heard a muffled thud and the squeak of bed springs.

And they stayed like that, silent and still. It was nearly half an hour before Happy couldn't take it anymore.

"Natsu? Are you still awake?"

"Yeah, buddy. What is it?"

"I'm glad Lucy could help us today. It was nice to see her smile again."

There was a small pause before Natsu replied. "Yeah."

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

Another pause. "No. Tired."

"Oh. Okay. G'night, Natsu."

"Night."

Happy had known he was awake. Natsu snores like a chainsaw, after all. And that had Happy worried. Why was he still awake?

Happy was afraid it was the same reason that _he_ was still awake. Natsu didn't want to go back to sleep. He didn't know what would happen. He was scared of what he would see, and what he would do.

Happy was kind of scared too.

His eyes fluttered open. He got up out of the ball he was curled into and slowly traversed the sill, positioning himself so that he'd have a better view of Natsu. Then he sat, he watched, and he waited.

It was going to be a long night, but at least Natsu would be okay in the morning.

* * *

"Morning, everybody!"

"Morning, Lucy." Mira offered a small, welcoming smile and a wave before moving off to continue minding the guild.

Lucy's own smile faltered a bit, but she was shaken out of whatever reverie she'd been in by Natsu calling to her, loudly, from across the Hall.

"Luce! Over here!" He waved.

"Not so loud, Natsu…" The dozing Exceed grumbled from beside him.

Wendy watched Lucy stride over to the Dragon Slayer and sit down next to him and the sleeping cat. They started talking idly about unimportant things, and Lucy briefly asked why Happy was so sleepy so early in the morning, but by that point Wendy had stopped listening.

With Lucy's return, the guild had become just a little livelier. Wendy had noticed that postures were a little less slumped, smiles were a bit more genuine, and Natsu was a bit less agitated. Even she was feeling a little better now that the girl had shaken off her gloomy demeanor and returned to the guild. Things were slowly getting back to normal.

A chunk of metal the size of a fist, a _large_ one, flew across the room and hit Natsu in the back of the head so hard that it knocked him out of his seat and into the floor. An instant later and he was back on his feet, practically spitting splinters and frothing at the mouth.

"Which one of you bastards threw that, at me, huh?!" He waved the iron blob around emphatically, completely missing the huge bite taken out of it. "When I find ya', Imma beat ya' so hard they won't be able to identify the body! They won't need to worry about the funeral, cause I'll cremate ya' right there! There won't be nothing left! I.."

Fire was erupting from his shoulders and fists, and spewing from his teeth with almost as much violence as the threats he was spouting on the fly. Wendy actually cringed a bit at the sheer ferocity of the promises he was making. For a second, she wondered if it was because he actually _knew_ who'd thrown it.

It didn't matter either way, because the culprit confessed to the crime. And he did it efficiently, by turning it into an insult and a challenge as well.

"Yeah? Let's see you try that, runt."

Gajeel was now standing, glaring daggers at the Fire Dragon Slayer from across the guild. His fists were balled, and his shoulder set. Gajeel was angry, and Wendy couldn't fathom why. Natsu hadn't come anywhere near him that morning. Levy, who had been sitting next to him for a large part of the morning with a book in her hand, was gaping at him, and the black Exceed in her lap shook his head in complete disapproval.

Natsu and Gajeel stomped toward each other, meeting in the middle with a savage scowl. Natsu cracked his knuckles. Gajeel merely growled, a sound that would scare the dead.

"Oh-ho-ho-hoooo! You've made you're last mistake, Rust-Nuts. I'm gonna smelt you down and turn you into a nice cast-iron pot."

Gajeel replied by head-butting him.

Wendy amended her previous statement. Things had returned to the Fairy Tail standard for normal.

As Natsu cracked Gajeel over the head with a table, Wendy heard Carla snort from beside her.

"Those oafs are at it again. Why must they be so obnoxious?" Carla stated scornfully.

"The same reason you feel the need to be so acerbic all the time. It's who they are, I guess."

"Wendy." Carla's eyes narrowed. She wasn't used to being chastised for her _own_ behavior and it was clear she didn't like it.

"I just hope they don't get too hurt. Gajeel seems pretty serious this time."

"Yes… Well, I'm fairly certain that your crocodile-tears will _NOT_ be breaking up _this_ fight."

Wendy nodded. "I know. I hate it when they fight. I wish Erza were here. She'd be able to stop this, easy."

Natsu punched Gajeel through a support beam, a couple of tables, and a good portion of the bar. The Iron Dragon Slayer tried to get up but Natsu was on top off him again, left hand gripping Gajeel's shirt and right had poised for another brutal volley of punches. Cana was screaming about the booze that was destroyed alongside the bar, Macao and Wakaba were screaming angry threats and Elman was screaming about men. Lucy was trying to pull Natsu off of Gajeel, and Lisanna was trying to talk the two of them down. Levy hadn't moved from her seat. She'd chosen to sit still and glower at Gajeel with the most disapproving look she could produce. Mira watched the carnage with heavy lids.

And, like magic, the chaos froze the moment the Guild Doors opened and the mighty Titania Erza entered the guild for the first time in a week.

Not a single person moved. No-one dared. They all stood dead still with round, frightened eyes, like deer caught in headlights. Natsu quivered a bit, and Gajeel was suddenly sweating bullets.

The only sounds that broke the silence were the soft snores coming from Happy, who was, somehow, still knocked out on the table.

Erza didn't even look at them. Even if she had, Wendy had a feeling that she wouldn't have seen them. Her eyes looked so distant and hollow.

Erza walked into the guild, right passed the ruckus, and to the job-board. Nab, who had been standing there that morning, per usual, immediately dived to the side to escape her notice and avoid her wrath. Erza didn't offer any signs that she'd noticed. Instead, she walked to the board, yanked three jobs, and then walked toward Mira. She stepped passed Natsu, who shivered a little more violently, and walked over some of the debris lying about before reaching the girl and handing her the slips.

"I'll be taking these three."

Mira smiled weakly. "Okay, Erza. Be safe and hurry back."

Erza didn't reply. She turned around, stepped over Gajeel, and strode out the door she'd entered not five minutes before.

It was a full minute before anyone felt brave enough to breathe. Natsu shuddered before being pulled off of Gajeel by Lucy. He was staring after Erza intently, and made to go after her before Lisanna put a soft hand upon his arm.

"Don't, Natsu. Let her deal with things at her own pace."

He turned to look at her. He opened his mouth to say something before Cana, Macao, and Wakaba pulled him into a completely different beating.

Gajeel was standing again, rolling his shoulders indignantly. "Serves that asshole right."

And then he was pulled right back to the floor, a sharp tug to his black mane yanking him off balance. Levy stood over him, her face glaciated. He wilted a bit beneath such a cold visage.

"Ah. Order restored, thanks to the women of Fairy Tail." Carla said with great satisfaction.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Clover, the Guildmasters gathered. They all sat, in a circle, facing each other with stern faces and somber attitudes. None of them wanted to be here. They didn't want to discuss what happened. They weren't sure they could relive it.

Finally, Sting, Sabertooth's young Master broke the silence.

"Can we get on with this already? It's not gonna get any easier."

There were grumbled affirmatives coming from around the room. Bob shook his head solemnly, and Onibaba twirled her fingers in a coaxing motion.

Eventually, Goldmine stood and cleared his throat. He spoke softly but clearly. "Fine. Today marks the 49th Annual Meeting of the Legal Guildmaster's Council. I, Goldmine, will be mediating."

He worked his way towards the center of the circle before speaking again. "We all know why we're here. Tartarus's attack on all of Fiore. We each had a part in the counterattack, but none of us truly know the full story. This meeting is for the express purpose of fact checking. From there, we can move on to other matters."

Silence.

Goldmine continued. "Being that Fairy Tail was, once again, heavily involved in the attack, it stand to reason that Fairy Tail's Master begin with his recount of the events of the battle."

Goldmine turned to him, and offered him a sympathetic smile. "So I now offer the floor to Fairy Tail's Seventh Master, Laxus Dreyar."

* * *

(A/N: Holy reveals, Batman! Next Chapter... Backstory TIEM!)


	5. Jellal the Depraved

Buenas Noches, mis amigos y amigas!

First order of business; I'm SORRY! I didn't mean to be away for so long, but a series of unfortunate events (including writer's block, hospital visits, and work) left me completely unable to continue until now. Even now, I'm still struggling with some formatting and stylistic choices, as well as some plot conundrums. So this chapter is considerably shorter than I'd planned. Despite that, it still happens to be the longest chapter I've written thus far.

So, there are some different methods of story-telling used within this chapter, designed to test the waters. I'd love it if you let me know what you think. I now have three reviewers and their commentary has me pleased as punch. I especially appreciate the affirmation of my characterization (Hah, that's some assonance for all y'all poetry types). keep the reviews coming. It's good for my soul.

I also believe that many of you have begun to suspect a minor them of my story. I've certainly been trying to leave enough breadcrumbs. I Challenge you to go back and look at the other four chapters and to look closely. Who's missing? Are they missing because I forgot them? Where they not important? Or could it be something more...nefarious.

On another note, that new chapter. He's got me conflicted. I hate the set up he's doing with that new power-up. I also think Keith was kinda wasted. Lemme know what you thought!

Now... Back to The Price of Bonds

**I Told you...**

**Chapter 5 - Jellal the Depraved and the Mysteries of Men**

* * *

The room was silent. Every pair of eyes within were turned toward him, riddled with expectation, derision, offense, or some amalgam of all three. Here was a room full of his grandfather's peers, people who either loved and respected the old man or feared and detested him. Some of their faces hinted at the deep sorrow that his presence at the summit reminded them of. Others harbored a reserved scrutiny. There were even some who openly displayed rage, no doubt insulted that a 'youngster' like him thought he could run a guild.

But he didn't think that. He didn't think that at all. Not Anymore.

But, as he stood from his own seat to answer the address, Laxus paid most of them the amount of attention they rightfully deserved: none. Instead, he opted to focus solely upon the people who mattered. His eyes hovered over the faces of a proud Goldmine, a ruefully smiling Bob, a irritated Sting, and a solemn Onibaba. These were the only Masters who mattered. These were his allies. The rest were of no consequence. They hadn't heeded the call, anyhow. That's why this farce of a meeting was necessary in the first place.

The twitch of an eyebrow was the only outward sign of any of his anger at the men in this room. Like many of the emotions stirred up by the Tartarus attack, he elected to bury it for the time being.

Arms crossed, shoulders set, and a stern, unyielding expression, Laxus was the image of a leader. He didn't carry that jovial attitude of his old man, and his posture and visage certainly weren't as inviting. But they did convey a powerful message of a different variety. He commanded respect, for himself and his guild. He would not tolerate anyone who dared to fuck with either.

It was time to get this over with. Like pulling off a bandage.

"As you all know, Tartarus attacked Magnolia on October 14th, X791. Their primary target was Fairy Tail."

There was an unfiltered, unrestrained scoff from one of the Masters opposite Laxus, and it was projected loudly to ensure no one in the building would miss it. "If we all know it, then why are you wasting our time by saying what doesn't need to be said?"

That had been Roark, Master of Arachne Superior. The man was pedantic and narcissistic. He never wasted an opportunity to undermine Makarov, and it seemed he would continue the grand tradition with him.

Laxus couldn't find the energy to even raise an eyebrow, much less look at the disruption.

"I didn't want to risk any confusion. The last time Fairy Tail contacted Arachne Superior, they mistook an _urgent_ distress call for a polite invitation."

Roark didn't sputter or growl like Laxus expected. There was only the briefest of pauses before he retorted.

"Yes, well, pardon me for assuming the 'Strongest Guild in Fiore' would pull another victory from its ass at the last second. It's your guild's calling card, after all, and we _love _you for it."

"I'm only one of the _thousands _of people in Fiore that were put at risk to maintain a stupid grudge. Apologize to _them_."

"No... They were put at risk by the ineptitude of their '_heroes'_. Your guild summoned demons it couldn't handle on its own, so it had to plead for help. Like a child, you all expect others to clean up messes you make. Maybe it's **YOU** that should be apologizing."

"And you'd like to be the first I apologize to, wouldn't you, Roark?"

"No, You're no substitute for Makarov. But, it seems I'll never be getting that particular pleasure."

Now he was just rubbing salt in a fresh wound. The rest of the room winced slightly at the harsh, venomous words Roark was striking Laxus with, despite the indifferent tone that they were delivered in.

"You haven't earned it, anyhow." Laxus was doing his best to maintain a facade of dignity and indifference. The static dancing across his skin with increasing frequency was making that a difficult task.

"After decades of unearned victories and self-righteous speeches, I believe everybody in this room has more than earned it."

"And after decades of envious horseshit dribbling from your mouth, I believe _it's _more than earned a good _rest_. We'd certainly welcome the silence. "

Roark snorted, ignoring the jibe. "Envy? What's there to be envious of, boy? An antiquated guild, erected on the nascent ideals of a naive street urchin? A child, desperate to fill the shoes of a doddering old fool? No, my boy... envy is far from what I feel for your wretched guild."

Roark's goading finally accomplished it's goal; it caught him Laxus' full attention. Gone was the stoic, proud Guildmaster. What remained was the livid Lighting Dragon Slayer, crackling with rage and glaring holes into Arachne Superior's Guildmaster. That reproach alone was enough to send Roark retreating into the back of his chair, and to thoroughly startle the rest of the Council as well.

"Why, _You..._"

"_ENOUGH!_"

Laxus broke off his attack, lightning sizzling out. Goldmine wasn't fooling around about mediating. Quatro Cerberus' Guildmaster was scowling at the both of them, not hiding his displeasure in the slightest. Bob's hands were up and covering his mouth in an effeminate expression of surprise, and Sting was leaning forward with interest.

"If it wouldn't be any trouble, could we quit squabbling like a bunch of starving vultures and return to the issue at hand? I don't enjoy babysitting grown men enough to do it all day."

Laxus had the decency to look abashed. Roark chose to frown indignantly, but wisely kept his opinions to himself. Goldmine's grim expression only lessened slightly.

"Now... If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Laxus, please continue."

Shooting one last glance of hatred at Roark, Laxus straightened.

"Fine." Laxus tried to sound like anything other than a recently scolded child. That didn't remove the pout in his voice. "As I was saying... Tartarus assaulted Magnolia with the intention of destroying Fairy Tail. We don't know why."

Laxus surveyed the room before continuing. He didn't want to do this. He _shouldn't_ be doing this. Gramps should be the one here, explaining things to the other Guildmasters, not him. "We do know that it served a greater goal. Tartarus was focused on activating 3000 Antimagic-Canons, Codenamed FACE, planted across Fiore, in an attempt to eliminate all magic within the continent. All of their previous movements, including the attacks on both active and retired members of the Magic Council, were in service of this goal."

All eyes were still on him, alert and attentive.

"This was only one step in an even larger plan. Tartarus was much more than a simple Dark guild. It was a Guild of religious zealots, who worshipped Zeref as a God. They were hoping to use FACE to summon enough Curse power to revive their Guildmaster, who would, in turn, return them to their god."

Goldmine nodded. Laxus had been sure to brief him prior to the meeting. Sting was stone-faced, having heard most of this from the Demon King himself. The rest of the room was flooded with the anxious mutterings of the other Guildmasters. They hadn't known how close it had been, how close they'd all come to destruction. They hadn't known that, by doing nothing, they'd nearly doomed everyone they'd ever known to death.

The way he understood it, FACE was designed to nullify magic. It was a Council failsafe, originally erected to deal with dragons. It hadn't worked in the slightest, but hadn't needed to. The dragons finished themselves off. It was later readapted as a means of putting down any large force of magic users that might mean the kingdom harm. Dark Guilds or a Magic Insurrectionist force, or forces from other countries could be easily dispatched through a simple targeting magic, which would allow FACE to siphon the magic from all that were targeted.

It was a failsafe because the complete absorption of one's magic was an execution order. FACE was to be activated if there was no other way to preserve the lives of the civilians, because it was certain to take the lives of anyone who was targeted.

And Tartarus targeted all of Fiore.

FACE naturally stored the magic absorbed as well, and dispersed it in slow, steady intervals, allowing the magic, in the form of Ethernano, to return to the surrounding environment. Tartarus was probably intending to convert the accumulated magic of 200,000 mages into enough Curse power to initiate the next phase of their plan.

That was all he was able to gather, from all the scattered pieces he was given.

Laxus was in a coma when Tartarus attacked, along with Yajima and the Thunder Tribe. He didn't recover until after the entire issue was resolved, so he had to reconstruct a detailed account of the battle from a series of scattered and unconnected stories, gathered from a guild being swallowed by grief. Most were very sparing regarding details, only giving him what he needed or what hurt the least. Some avoided him, others refused to talk at all. Even with the interviews and reports he did acquire, there were still holes, but he had enough of an idea of what happened to compile a half-assed explanation for the other Guildmasters.

Doranbolt was courteous enough, after some prompting, to explain to him the basic functions of the devices responsible for the deaths of his comrades.

"To start their plan, Tartarus needed the three Keys locking FACE. To acquire them, they had to find the three Councilors who possessed them. This was the reasoning behind the systematic slaughter of the both iterations of the Council. From there, Tartarus launched an assault on Fairy Tail. They cursed one of our members, forced him to plant an explosive Lacrima within the basement. It was..."

Laxus didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be Guildmaster. Not anymore.

* * *

Levy didn't understand men.

"You can't keep picking fights with him, you know. Especially when he hasn't done anything to deserve it."

"C'rse I can. The moment he opens his mouth, he deserves it. Having to be in the same building everyday is reason enough."

It had been a concerted effort, between Lucy, herself, and Lisanna, to separate the two Dragon Slayers after their vicious scrap that morning, and to keep them separated. Lucy was chastising Natsu with a wag of her finger and a hand on her hip, while Lisanna tried to doctor some of the scrapes he'd picked up while being thrown through the furniture. Natsu whined at them both, trying to pull himself free of Lisanna and to get Lucy to stop tearing into him so fiercely. He failed to do either. How could he not see it? Lucy's admonitions and the fact that Lisanna was doing something that Wendy could have done in seconds. Wendy had acted all willing, but Carla had immediately objected, and Levy suspected that it was calculated. They understood that Lucy and Lisanna were trying to look after someone special in their own ways, and decided that it'd be cathartic to let them.

As the two girls fretted over Natsu, Levy's eyes drifted back to her own Dragon Slayer. His eyes were still locked on Natsu. His arms were firmly crossed and a scowl deeply engraved on his face. He was so wound up, she didn't dare touch him, for fear that he'd snap. Her relationship with Gajeel always seemed to come back to fear.

She'd been so angry with him. She'd been talking with him, attempting to share a particularly enrapturing scene from her recent fancy, _Lost Labyrinth_. She hadn't been fool enough to think he would actually find it interesting, but she hoped he'd at least attempt to listen. She liked to know that he'd bear activities he found distasteful because they made her happy, because he put her above his own discomfort. But Gajeel hadn't listened, he didn't even grunt a reply. She realized this when he interrupted her explanation, that the Labyrinth was a projection of the protagonist's childhood trauma, to pitch his breakfast at Natsu's head. It irritated her to the point that she'd stormed over to him and yanked him back to their table by his 'Dragon's mane'. It was not like her to be so aggressive and imposing, especially with Gajeel, but the jerk brought it out of her sometimes. More often, however, he left her feeling vulnerable and exposed. She wished she could find that fire again. It'd vanished the moment they returned to the table.

Speaking of fire, she briefly wondered why he was so fixated on the Fire Dragon Slayer. Gajeel and Natsu were at odds on the best of days, but this was a whole new level of antagonism. Gajeel was still glaring daggers at him from across the guild.

"That's not a good enough reason, and you know it. Normally, you'd stick to derisive remarks whenever he annoyed you. This time, you attacked him out of the blue."

Gajeel still wouldn't look at her. His shoulders shifted with a nonchalant jerk. "Since the sneers weren't gettin' through that thick head of his, I decided I'd try to use iron instead. Turns out that didn't work either. Go Figure."

Levy's eyes narrowed a bit. He was evading her. Again.

"You two need to learn to get along. He's important to Lucy, and I'm friends with Lucy. So you need to learn to tolerate him."

"You tolerate him. I'll stick to punching him." That wasn't what she wanted to hear at all. She wanted him to grumble an agreement, to say in his own, brutish way that he'd do it because she asked. But, again, he didn't.

He was so pugnacious lately. More so than usual. And he was taking most of it out on Natsu. After the... attack, Gajeel recoiled into himself a bit. He' became more reclusive, running off to train in isolation or finding a mission to do by himself. He even shut Pantherlily out. That was a sure sign that Gajeel was not okay. But Levy was more concerned with the fact that he was shutting _HER_ out.

After a few days, he loosened up, started to adopt his old behaviors, but whenever Levy tried to ask him what was bothering him, he'd blow her off. Today, for some reason, he'd reverted back to sour and combative, and Natsu was the sole recipient of his wrath. She didn't understand why.

And he still wouldn't look at her.

"Gajeel? What's gotten into you? Why are you so upset with Natsu?"

Finally, he looked at her. It was a look that said one thing, clearly and concisely: Drop It.

"I'm not upset. I just hate that bastard."

"You seem pretty upset."

"I'm not. Upset." He was practically growling at her. But she wouldn't back down. How could she help if she didn't know what was wrong?

"If it has to do with..."

"_I SAID I'M NOT UPSET!_" He was standing, glowering down at her with his lips curled into a snarl. "Damn it." He swore, and then he turned and stalked out of the guild. Levy Blinked.

The rest of the guild was shocked into silence by the sudden outburst. Lucy wasn't yelling at Natsu anymore, she was instead looking towards Levy with an appalled gasp, hands hanging uselessly. Lisanna offered a small, sympathetic smile. Elfman shook his head and Natsu stared after Gajeel in distaste. Mira watched the doors close with heavy lids and a blank expression. Levy blinked again.

Cana put down her drink. Macao and Wakaba were craning their necks to check on her. Jet and Droy where blubbering all kinds of platitudes, intermixed with swears and colorful threats pertaining to Gajeel, but Levy wasn't really listening. Pantherlily patted her arm soothingly, but his eyes were still on the Guild's entrance. Levy blinked again.

She blinked and she blinked but, no matter how many times she blinked, it didn't stop the tears from flowing.

* * *

She'd been a fool.

In her haste to get in and get out, Erza made the foolish mistake of grabbing an escort mission.

She hadn't read the flyer, she didn't even notice the reward. All she was concerned with was how long it would keep her out and on the job. This one would take three weeks.

Good.

But still... An escort mission was less than ideal. Escort missions require that one be on their best behavior. She would need to be pleasant and inviting, and to make the client feel safe with her. They had to know that she was a competent mage from a competent guild, completely fit to handle any emotional or physical hurdles they might encounter throughout the duration of her employment. Her performance, positive or negative, would affect Fairy Tail's reputation.

She just wasn't sure she could believably pull of the act.

But she'd taken the job now, and she would go through with it as a respectable Fairy Tail wizard. She would do her duty with impeccable efficiency, because her guild deserved no less than the best she had to give. Titania Erza always gave her best.

It was the least she could do to honor the Master for all he did for her.

She was pulled from her reverie by the sudden, disquieting presence of a cloaked individual to her right.

With her steel breastplate and gauntlets, crimson locks, and her determined expression, Erza often cut an intimidating figure. She was used to having a lot of elbow room whenever she maneuvered the streets of Magnolia, as the citizens usually felt it prudent to give her that space. The sudden presence of an unidentified individual directly to her right struck her as strange. But she didn't immediately jump to arms, calling a sword to strike down the invader of personal space. Instead, she chose to walk along like she hadn't noticed him. He'd chosen his distance, so as to be just close enough to converse with her, but not close enough to be suspected of doing so. She didn't want to draw attention to him until after he'd said his piece.

The cloaked stranger walked beside her, a few paces behind and to her right, not doing or saying anything for a few minutes. She was growing impatient. Just when she was about to politely ask him why he was following her, he chose to speak up.

"Another one. So soon?"

She recognized that voice! She knew its timbre, the lilt and cadence that marked it as unique and identifiable. She'd heard it all her life, in dreams and nightmares, and memories. It haunted her, and it kept her going.

"Jellal?!"

He fumbled a bit, but quickly caught himself.

"Sh..ShhhShhhhShhhhhhh. Not so loud! _Jellal_ is a wanted man, remember?"

"That's the point! What are you doing here?"

He was attempting to make the frantic scanning of the area look casual. "Well, if you'd stop trying to have me arrested, I came to talk to you. Now keep walking, act like we don't know each other."

Talk? Came to talk? Why? Why would he risk his freedom and his life to come talk? He always managed to bring out the prepubescent girl in her whenever he was around, tugging on her insecurities and neuroses like guitar strings.

"I'm just checking on you. Making sure you're alright."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Don't make me answer that."

"Are you insinuating that I can't handle it?"

"Yes."

"Well... You're wrong. Everything is under control.

"Under control. What is this? Your 6th mission since the attack?"

"Your point?"

"For the past 12 days, all you've done is eat, sleep, and work."

"How would you know that?"

"I've.. er... watched to make sure you were alright before I risked this confrontation."

"So you were spying on me."

"I didn't say..."

"I never expected such depravity from you."

"I.."

"Did you watch me bathe?"

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"Listen! That's not the point."

"You still haven't explained to me your point."

Jellal turned to look at her. She caught a glimpse of the red tattoo, the blue locks, his deep brown eyes.

"I've watched you bury yourself in work for nearly two weeks. You're running away. I've come to tell you to stop."

She faced forward once more. Eyes closed, she sighed in an exaggerated expression of exasperation.

"I am not running. I am working. The guild needs the revenue, and I live for the guild. Besides.. I need no lectures from you about running away from my..."

"Ma'am?"

Erza turned to the voice, scared out of her wits. What if they saw Jellal? What If they recognized him? What if he died because he was worried about her?

The voice, belonging to a guard who'd been watching with a bit of concern, continued.

"You alright, ma'am? You're talking to yourself."

Erza turned to her right reflexively.

He was right. There was no one there but the two of them.


	6. The Will of the Master

Hey All!

So first order of business. New reviews! Thank you for all the feedback. Thank you x2 for it being Positive! When the word beautiful is applied to my work, I know I'm doing something right! Keep 'em coming guys!

Next.. I'm trying something new with this chapter. It's an experimental way of addressing flashbacks. Lemme know what you think of it. If it's terrible, I'll Dumpsterbin the concept and move forward fresh.

Finally, This chapter ALSO got cut, but not because of a writer's block. That was the cause of it's tardiness. It was cut, because continuing would shatter the emotional resonance I'd found at the end of the chapter. Take that as a warning.

So, with that... The Price of Bonds.

**The Price of Bonds: Chapter 6 - The Will of the Master**

The guild got very loud, very quickly, after Gajeel's melodramatic exit.

"Wh-when I get my _hands_ on that bastard, I'll... Why I'll... I'll turn him into scrap metal! Yeah... Then I...I'll turn 'im into a tasteful sculpture and have him put in the park so the birds can shit all over him!"

"But then he'd ruin the tranquility of the park, Jet! Instead we could just kill him and use his body for mulch. I bet it'd be shitty mulch too, 'cuz nothing _good_ could ever out of that _asshole!_"

Jet and Droy were still frothing. They'd been coming up with colorful slurs and inventive threats since the Iron Dragon Slayer left. Quite frankly, Lisanna should have felt offended. Any normal girl of her age and sensibilities would have. But Fairy Tail beat the prudishness out of her early on. Natsu, after all, was more profane when they were kids.

She felt a tremble originate from beside her. She turned her head just enough to see him from the corner of her eye, and caught Natsu stifling a snicker. Lisanna slapped his arm reprovingly. He was such a child sometimes. How she felt about that tended to vary from situation to situation, but now was definitely not an appreciable moment for it.

"Yeah! Then we could grow a garden out of him... and _**burn **_the garden to the ground!"

That idea caught Natsu's attention. He opened his mouth to say something, no doubt that he'd personally help burn down the Gajeel-garden, when Lisanna prudently clamped her palm over his mouth. She raised her other finger to her lips. This fire didn't need any help getting bigger.

"No, we can't do that, Jet! Plants shouldn't be burned, they should be cherished!"

"Uh..okay... We could always.. grow.. some flowers... for... Levy?"

"Yeah! That'd be like... Dramatic Irony... or... something."

Natsu laughed into her hand. She didn't understand why. Puns, intended or not, were never funny.

"Natsu! Shhhhhh!"

"Would you two shut up already! We all know you're not man enough to follow through with any of those threats. Besides, all your yelling is upsetting Levy! Don't you know it's rude to talk like that in front of a lady? Be more respectful!"

And there went her brother, illustrating his inverted definition of help.

Jet and Droy rounded on Elfman, thinking to take out their frustration on him, but their mouths clamped shut immediately. The two male members of Team Shadow Gear weren't nearly as confident as their Edolas counterparts, and it didn't take much to frighten them. Elfman standing at full height, with his eyes harsh and his jaw firm, was probably overkill.

**WHAP!**

Or it _would _have been, had Evergreen not chosen that moment to bean him from behind with her closed fan.

"Oi! What was that for!" Elfman turned toward the assailant, rubbing at his scalp. He towered over her, but Evergreen didn't look the least bit intimidated. In fact, she looked completely in control.

"For being stupid and oblivious. The same reason I_ always_ hit you."

"I was just being chivalrous! Isn't that what you girls want?!"

"So now you think yourself an expert on women, too, hmmm? You think you know what we want? How ridiculous."

**WHAP WHAP WHAP**

"No, no! I didn't say that! It's just manly to look out for women!"

"So, now we need _looking AFTER?!"_

**WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP**

"N-no... Ever? Wait! I..."

Natsu was now laughing directly into her palm. Lisanna placed her other hand on top of the back of the first, in an attempt to stifle the sound. Her brother didn't need any more blows to his pride.

At least one good thing resulted from Elfman's intrusion. It shut down Jet and Droy before they did anything they'd regret. If he hadn't, they might have actually gone after Gajeel and, with his current disposition, they probably would've come back missing pieces.

That would probably make things between Levy and Gajeel even worse.

Whatever' the cause of the explosion, it left Levy a mess. She wasn't bawling anymore, but she still looked a little shaken. Lisanna didn't blame her. If Natsu'd yelled at her like that... for absolutely no reason? She'd be a mess too.

Lucy, who'd immediately gone over to console her, still had two reassuring hands placed on the Solid Script mage's arm, and was whispering comforting words to her. The conversation was obviously private, being spoken just loud enough for the girls to hear each other.

Lisanna was just fine with that. Lucy's departure gave her the chance to have a private conversation of her own.

As if on cue, Natsu chose that moment to lick her palm.

"Ewww... Natsu! Gross!"

"Heh! Consider youself lucky. I usually spit fire."

"Yeah? Well, consider _yourself_ lucky I chose to wash my hands this morning!"

"What? That's nasty Lisanna!"

He wanted to be gross? She could do gross, too.

"You started it. Just like you did with Gajeel, I'm sure."

Natsu was tugging at the bandage she'd only just wrapped around his head. She pulled his hands away from it, but they immediately shot back up and started to fuss with it again.

"What do you mean?! You saw! He threw a chunk of metal at my head! He's the one with a problem! Not me!"

...

""I d-don't understand."

Lucy's heart was breaking. One of her best friends was falling apart right in front of her eyes, and there was nothing she could really say or do to stop it. The only one that could help was the same sociopathic jerk that put her in the state to begin with. Unfortunately, Gajeel talking about his feelings was not something she was willing to put faith in. There was a better chance that Natsu would win a spelling bee.

The Celestial Spirit mage really didn't understand what Levy saw in Gajeel, and she never would, but it didn't matter. Levy saw it, and she wanted it. She wanted Gajeel. The problem was that Levy didn't know if he wanted_ her. _And that was leaving her a wreck.

"I don't un-understand, L-Lucy. He doesn't tell me anything. He n-never confides in me. It's like he doesn't _trust_ me!"

Now Lucy had to do damage control. Right now, Levy wasn't stable enough to consider reevaluating her tastes in men. Bad-mouthing Gajeel would only upset her further. Lucy had to convince her that there was hope for her.

Levy was smart. It'd be difficult to lie to her like that.

"I wouldn't say that. Gajeel has always been secretive. It's who he is..."

Levy shook her head vehemently. She wasn't buying that.

"People confide in the ones they trust. The ones they care about..."

She left the end of that statement hanging. Gajeel's tight-lipped persona spoke volumes for anyone who was knowledgeable in psychology. Combined with his violent tendencies and past, it suggested that Gajeel was drowning in issues. All Levy wanted was to help.

But he didn't trust her enough to let her in.

"..and, He never takes me seriously. He's always being mean and rude, and whenever I try to engage with him, he brushes me off. It's like he thinks I'm nothing but a nuisance."

Looking at Levy, who was usually so carefree, reduced to this state of fretting and spiraling inadequacy sparked something in Lucy. If she could have, she'd have gone and beaten Gajeel already for the damage he'd wrought. As it was, Lucy would do anything to pull Levy from the pit she'd fallen in.

"That's not true."

She didn't know that. She didn't know what Gajeel thought of Levy. But she did know that whatever Gajeel thought, It wouldn't matter if Levy lapsed into a depressed resignation. She needed conviction.

"Levy, Gajeel trusts you, He's just not the kind to ask for help. He doesn't think you're annoying. He spends more time with you than anyone else here."

Levy's eyes were big and doe-like. She stayed silent, urging Lucy to continue... to tell her that all hope was not lost, and that she could still salvage her relationship with Gajeel. She desperately craved the affirmation. Lucy would have been a horrible person to deny her it. She felt _worse_ than horrible for giving her false hope.

"Besides... Gajeel volunteered to help you become S-class, remember?"

"But... he did that because he wanted to fight the other competitors. He said so himself."

Good. She had Levy's attention. Now she had to reel her in.

"Psh... So? Would Gajeel ever admit that he wanted to help anyone? Much less someone he may like?"

"Uh..."

"Remember the Grimoire Heart attack? He fought two opponents at once to give you time to escape. You think that was because he wanted to fight strong opponents, or because he wanted to protect you?"

"You really...?"

"Yeah, girl! I think he'd have rather died than seen one hair on your head out of place."

Levy's face, already flushed from her previous emotional outburst, glowed a new, and she smiled softly. All this optimism was repairing her spirit, and Lucy was proud to have helped it along.

"Whatever's going on, it's something that has him upset. He snapped at you because of that. Not because of you. he probably isn't used to people fussing over him, anyhow."

"Y-yeah?"

"Yeah. It probably makes him feel uncomfortable. Like he's weak, or out of control. Macho guys like Gajeel hate that feeling, so they overcompensate."

"Yeah..."

"He'll probably bluster a bit, then come back and sit next to you like nothing happened."

Levy's cheeks puffed out a bit at that. She'd gone from disconsolate to obstinate so quickly. Lucy was impressed with her resilience.

"He's not getting off the hook _that _easy. I'll make him pay for yelling at me, like that!"

"You do that girl. You show him who's in charge."

"I will!"

The passionate blaze in Levy's eyes dulled a bit. "Thanks, Lu."

"No problem! It's what friends do!"

Lucy wasn't a fool, by any means. She knew that Levy wasn't nearly as certain as she let on. But the fact that she had enough presence of mind to believably pull off a brave face gave Lucy confidence that the Solid Script Mage would be fine.

Coaching finished with, Lucy turned around to go back to Natsu. Levy would prefer to be left alone, now. she'd want time to herself, either to read her books or sort through her thoughts and feelings. Either way, she was now in a much better state of mind to tackle the numerous problems presented by Gajeel Redfox.

Across the guild, Natsu and Lisanna were talking to one another. They were leaning in close, with focused, serious expressions. Whatever they were talking about, it was important.

Lisanna shook her head at whatever Natsu said. Then she reached over, and gently put a hand on his knee. It was innocent enough, but the intimate action, combined with the sober faces, brought something Levy'd said back to the forefront of Lucy's mind.

_**People confide in the ones they trust. The ones they care about...**_

Lucy felt her stomach leap into her throat and plummet right back into her chest. Levy hadn't been wrong. Trust and the intimacy that involved sharing important or uneasy secrets was an integral part of any relationship. It was the sign of close friends, and often the sign of blossoming romances.

Natsu never had any of those conversations with her.

But he _was _having them with Lisanna.

...

"Don't play innocent, Natsu. What'd you do..."

"I didn't do anything, honest! That bastard is just angry that I kicked his ass yesterday... Jerk isn't even graceful in defeat..."

"Wait... You two got into _another_ fight yesterday?"

"Uhhhh... No?"

Lisanna shook her head. This was getting ridiculous. Natsu and Gajeel were going to hurt each other if this kept up. and from the sounds of it, it would keep up. The loser of the previous fight was just going to start another one later. Lisanna had to do something before anything else happened. she didn't have any leverage with Gajeel, but she could at least attempt to talk Natsu out of it, right?

"Relax... Nothin' happened. We just needed a little tussle to release some of the pent up frustration."

"It's never a little tussle with you two! How'd it happen anyway?!"

Natsu chose to look at the ceiling instead of her. Hands behind his head, he leaned back and tried to look the image of nonchalance. That's how she knew that the next thing he said was not going to be the truth. At least not all of it.

"Well, I went to go get Luce, but she got pretty mad at me for not respecting her feelings or something. It got pretty ugly."

He shifted, bringing one of his hands to his nose and rubbing beneath it with his pointer finger with irritation and distaste. "Then ole Bolt-Brain showed up and started mouthing off. I told him to shove it, So he punched me, and I kicked his ass. Nothing unusual. I don't know why you're so worried."

Lisanna reached out and placed her hand on his knee. She held it there and tried to catch his eyes, but he wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Plenty of reasons, Natsu. You and Gajeel keep escalating. One of you are going to get hurt in one of these 'little tussles' if you don't cut it out soon, and I don't want to get in the habit of bandaging you up every time you get on Gajeel's bad side."

That wasn't entirely true. Lisanna didn't like seeing Natsu hurt, But she did like to be able to care for him. She liked to do what little she could to keep him safe.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Pffft. I can handle him no problem. He's the one you should be worried about."

"He's already got someone who's plenty worried. I'm concerned about you. Now... what really happened."

"I just told you. You should listen better, Lisanna. Seriously."

"No, you told me a half-truth, thinking it'd satisfy me. It didn't, so stop playing dumb Natsu. I know you aren't."

Natsu leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. He he sighed laborously, but eventually complied. She liked that about him. Despite the huge show that he put on, he'd eventually talk to her if she asked.

"He...uh...He overheard us talking yesterday."

She nodded, but didn't interrupt. She already had a good idea of the situation now.

"So he asked me about the dream and I wouldn't tell him. That's how the fight started."

Lisanna didn't know Gajeel all that well, but she could make some immediate assumptions based on background. She knew that he had a similar background to Natsu's. He was abandoned by his dragon, his parent, at a young age, and was left to fend for himself. It'd affected them both in different ways, but she imagined that they both had a similar goal. They both wanted to find their dragons.

But If Gajeel _had_ been listening in, then he would know that the dream had been about Natsu's dragon, not his. So why would he care? What motive did he have for trying to get the details out of Natsu?

One of two possibilities were all she could come up with. One of the two of them was hiding something. Either Natsu wasn't telling her something, or Gajeel hadn't been telling _anybody_ anything.

"What else did he say, Natsu?"

"What?"

"What else did he say? He must have said something that might clear up why he was so interested in your dream in the first place."

"Er...Right... Well..."

Nastu, as passionate as he was, was hardly accustomed to hiding his emotions. Natsu could play dumb all he liked. He could put on the airs of a child and walk around pouting and acting immature, and people would buy it. But Natsu would never be able to obscure his feelings. He couldn't smile if he was sad, he couldn't laugh while he was angry, and he couldn't relax while he was nervous.

He was definitely nervous _now_.

But Lisanna never got to ask why. Natsu's attention was grabbed by something that only caused his anxiety to grow.

"What're you two talking about? What dream?"

Lucy had finished helping bolster Levy's spirits, and she'd overheard the tail end of their conversation.

Lisanna tried to steal Lucy's attention away from Natsu. Her question said one thing. He hadn't told her yet. His response to her question, though only a brief widening of the eyes before he graced her with the enormous grin he was known for, told her that he hadn't intended to tell her. Lucy's posture, despite the pleasant tone and the innocence of the question, suggested that she was aware of that fact. Lisanna decided to run interference. If Natsu went ahead and told her, it would be under his own council. "Oh, hey Lucy! How is Levy? Will she be alright?"

Natsu followed her lead. "Yeah! Do I need to go drag the Tin-man back here to apologize? Cuz I will.. Gladly."

Lucy made a face that was an odd mixture of amusement and irritation. Lisanna thought she might have understood it a little. Lucy didn't like that they were evading her.

"Oh, That won't be necessary Natsu. Levy was just a little frustrated, but after a little bolstering of morale, she's back and ready to give _Gajeel_ his well-earned licks herself. Now.. what dream where you two talking about?"

Not even Mira could believably pull off the tooth-rotting innocence that Lucy was pushing on them, but that wasn't the intent. She was actually taking a play from Erza's playbook. She was trying to intimidate him into compliance by providing one chance to opt out and come clean before she went absolutely medieval.

But one glance, out of the corner of her eye, told he that Natsu hadn't considered folding, not even for a second.

"It's nothing, Luce. Just a dream I had. Happy told Lisanna about it, so she asked me to fill her in."

Lucy's eyes narrowed a bit, but she continued the facade of pleasantness.

"Well, good then. You can explain it to both of us."

"Uh, well.. Y'see... I was kinda..refusing? To tell her?"

Lisanna faltered at that. That was a brazen lie. Natsu _REALLY _ didn't want Lucy to know about his dream. Why?

"Why? What are you hiding, Natsu?"

"Nothing.. It was just..uh... I really don't want to talk about it."

Lisanna had to play the part too. If she didn't act like she didn't already know, Lucy would be suspicious. She had to play along with Natsu's lie, or he'd get caught in it.

"It can't be that bad, Natsu! Tell us!"

"Yeah, Natsu. Tell us!""

"It's nothing, okay?! Now, If you don't mind, Happy and I had stuff to do today. C'mon, Hap."

There was a little yawn from behind her, and it was then that Lisanna remembered the little Exceed, the "son" she helped raise, had been sleeping on the table behind them the whole time. The blue cat raised its head, eyes still shut with exhaustion, and smiled widely.

"Natsu's just embarrassed because he sometimes has _scandalous_ dreams about Lucy and doesn't want her to know..oh, hi Lucy!"

Having let Natsu of the hook (by getting him stuck on a bigger one) Happy tried to lower his head to go back to sleep. Natsu just stood there gaping in astoundment. He looked at Lucy, who looked absolutely mortified and was attempting to cover herself with her hands, and then to Lisanna, who was containing her giggles as best as she could.

"_WHAT_?!I do _NOT_!"

"Sure.." Happy said smoothly. "Because a pervert never tries to hide his perversion."

"I said... "_c'mon, _Happy!"

Natsu grabbed the Exceed by the tail and yanked him off the table. The little cat waved his arms about and yowled in protest as he dangled, but Natsu ignored it. He also ignored Lisanna and Lucy as he left.

Lisanna waved goodbye. Natsu and happy always left her smiling, even when they hadn't meant to. She loved them both because of that quality they had. They both were bright lights in a suffocating darkness.

But when she saw Lucy, who's eyes followed them out of the guild hall, she didn't see amusement or happiness, far from it.

She looked sad, like some unidentifiable shadow was trying to swallow her, now that the light had abandoned her.

...

"... Sting and Rogue of Sabertooth went to engage Marde Geer, giving Erza Scarlet and Minerva Orlando time to find the Ex-Chairman, killed and puppeteered by Keith the Black Priest."

A beat.

"They found the Ex-Chairman's corpse, attempting to activate FACE, and dispatched it quickly. At the same time, Natsu Dragneel, Juvia Lockser, and Gajeel Redfox were engaging Tempesta, Torafusa, and Kieth."

_The Black Priest exploded into a sinister black cloud and dissipated. The disembodied skull crumbled before it touched the ground. The only one left was Juvia. She stood strong and defiant._

_"Kieth was defeated?!" Torafusa was astonished. Tempesta expressed his own shock with silence._

_Gajeel smirked with pride. Natsu beamed._

"Juvia Lockser was able to successfully kill the Necromancer. This prevented Tartarus from reviving Crawford Seam in the future."

_Juvia fell to her knees, hacking. Blood splattered the dirt between her hands._

_"Juvia!" Lucy lifted her hand toward the other girl, but was too exhausted to reach her._

_"Sin Particles.." Tempesta offered snidely._

_"Kieth's body was filled with them. It's only natural that they infected her as well." Torafusa replied._

_"Juvia, hang in there!" Lucy screamed._

_Gajeel, snarled at the two. "You bastards..."_

_Natsu said nothing. His fists burst into flame._

_"It's about time we took care of these guys."_

_Gajeel grunted an affirmative_

_Behind them, Juvia was attempting to stand again._

_"G-Gray..." She groaned._

_"Juvia! Stop! You're hurt! You need to..." Lucy tried._

_"Juvia...J.. I need to get to Gray..." She said, finally managing to get her knees back under her and into an uneasy stand. She hobbled off after that, leaving Lucy behind with Natsu and Gajeel._

"Lockser left the group to go find Gray Fullbuster, despite being severely wounded. With Keith defeated and Lockser out of the fight, it left Redfox and Dragneel to deal with the remaining members of Tartarus."

_"I grow bored of such games." Tempesta mocked._

_"Yeah... It's about time we take them seriously.." Torafusa agreed."We'll need the true power of the Etherias to defeat them."_

_The two demons erupted with power, and their bodies morphed into their true, horrific forms._

_"Etherias Forms!" They bellowed in unison._

_"If that's how you want to play.." Natsu retorted._

_"..Then we'll just have to turn up the heat as well." Gajeel finished, with relish._

_"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!"_

_"Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!"_

Laxus stopped his report for just a split second to reflect on the idiocy of his Guildlings. Natsu and Gajeel.. making bets during the middle of a fight, and then accidently clocking each other during the same fight? He should have publicly disowned them, just to save Fairy Tail's reputation.

"Gajeel and Natsu managed to triumph over the two Demons, after several extended trades. The two Dragon Slayers, overcome by exhaustion, passed out shortly after."

Laxus swallowed. Things were not about to get easier.

"In the meantime, following the posthumous advice of Fairy Tail's Second Master, Third Master Makarov Dreyar made his way to the remains of Fairy Tail Guild."

This part would be sticky. He couldn't tell them all about Lumen Histoire. It was a Secret Art, passed down by the First Master to the succeeding Masters of Fairy Tail. It was knowledge that only the Masters of Fairy Tail were allowed to have.

"Within the Guild, a Lacrima was stored. It was an artifact, charged with Holy magic, Intended to cleanse the immediate area of all malevolence."

That was a half-truth. Lumen Histoire wasn't a Lacrima, but it _did_ cleanse Magnolia of all evil within. He should know. The Sin Particles would have killed him if it hadn't.

"Unfortunately..."

_When Laxus finally awoke, he'd been comatose for 4 days. He was the last to recover as he'd consumed a majority of the Sin Particles produced by Tempesta after their fight.. What he found when he did... made him wish he hadn't._

_Mirajane sat beside his bed, hand clasped around his hand. She was shaking. He assumed it was because she was crying. The tearmarks running down her face and the puffy eyes where a good tip off. But he didn't know why she was crying._

_"Hey... Mira." He said, weaker than he 'd like. But it'd been four days since he'd spoke. That was the best he had at the moment._

_"Hey, Laxus. I'm.. I'm so glad you're awake." She looked relieved. He was glad._

_"What's up?" She knew what he meant. Why was she crying. What happpened._

_"I'm happy. It's been four days... and none of us wanted... to accept that the worst could become reality."_

_"C'mon, Mira. Those aren't... tears of...joy." Still wheezing, but he was improving. A little at a time, he was improving._

_She sniffled to herself before sighing. She was readying herself for something. He already didn't like what she was about to tell him._

_"Wait. Where are we? This isn't the guild. Mira?"_

_Laxus looked into deep, beautiful blue eyes, filled to the brim with sadness, remorse, and tears. _

_She didn't want to tell him any more than he wanted to hear it, at this point, but he'd asked, so she'd tell him._

_"Well, while you were sleeping," He noticed she chose her verbs carefully. She didn't want to think about how close he'd come."... The guild was attacked. By Tartarus."_

_"What?!" Static started to dance across his skin, but a soft stroking across the back of his hand dulled his fury. Mira smiled softly, and continued to pacify him._

_"Shh.. It's okay, Laxus. We got them. We won. But they destroyed the guild in the initial attack. We had to take you to the local hospital after all the fighting."_

_And suddenly Laxus felt a new emotion. Why hadn't he been there? They might have needed him. They might have saved the guild. He was so stupid, trying to sacrifice himself like that. And what of Mira? Seeing how she was now, how might she have handled his death?_

_"B-but Laxus? There's something that you need to kn-know..."_

_The tears sprung forth anew, but Mira kept on, as she always did. She was stubborn like that, and it was one of the many things he admired about her. He felt his stomach sink a bit further, the dread contained weighing it down._

_"It's the M-master...Your Grandfather..."_

"Unfortunately, the Third Master did not have the strength to use the lacrima. But rather than risk one of his children, he... he chose to persevere. He activated it, and single handedly destroyed the remaining Members of Tartarus, at the cost... of his own life."

_"What?" _

_"M-Master M-Makarov died a-activating L-L-Lumen Histoire..." Mira was bawling into his chest. She'd used what was left of her strength giving him the news._

_Laxus ground his teeth, attempting to hold himself back, but not even he was strong enough to defeat the grief welling up inside him. He sobbed into her hair, and they held each other until they were empty of tears._

_Outside the door, as he later discovered, was Macao and Yajima. They'd agreed to Mira's request to be the one to greet him when he awoke, but they also had something to tell him. Makarov had been prepared for the possibility of his death, after nearly passing twice during the battles with Grimoire heart and Acnologia. It was unclear when, but at some point Makarov drafted a will, Naming his successor._

_Macao gave the letter to Laxus, and then promptly ducked out to give him some more time. Mira stayed. He was glad she did. He needed her._

_He read the letter bit by bit. In it were special anecdotes addressed to each and every one of the Mages of Fairy Tail. There was a line to Natsu, telling him to behave and expressing faith that he'd outshine his father someday. There was one to Lucy, proclaiming her to be the brightest, most brilliant star he'd even seen. To Erza, he requested she continue to support and protect the family they both cherished so dearly in his stead. He expressed pride in Gray, as a wizard and a man. To Gajeel, he requested faith that his new family would always stand beside him. Wendy, that she continue to grow into the powerful, lovely woman that she saw within._

_And the list went on. He left a message for Mira, too, thanking her for blessing an undeserving old man with her boundless love and care for so many years._

_Finally, at the bottom, was the message for him._

_"I love you, Laxus. Take care of Fairy Tail for me. I'm counting on you."_

_Laxus had been wrong. The tears where far from finished._

* * *

_(A/N: I had music playing in the background while I wrote this. I barely made it through the last part without weeping to myself softly.)_


	7. The Opposite of Guilt

Heeeeeey Yooooou guyyyyyyyyyyyz!

What's up? How you been? Me, I've been good. Just been practicing my procrastination. I'd still be practicing too, if I hadn't lost Top Lane in League. So you can thank that bitchy AP Nunu for forcing me to write this chapter.

Now I have to admit. I'm extremely self-conscious about this chapter. The actual reason it's so late is because I was terrified of the fight scenes I was going to have to write. Even now, I'm unsure about them, and I may have to go back and change them to assuage my concerns. I'm also not sure of the use of Flashbacks, and the brevity on other plot points, and the characterization could be done better, and... get the picture? Any and all reviews are appreciated, and will calm my thrashing heart.

Now, on to the good stuff. That new chapter. I love it for a multitude of reasons, among which include moar Gajeel, Torafusa, and the feelz. I hate it though, because it has made plotting difficult for me, AGAIN! DAMN YOU, HIRO, FOR BEING UNPREDICTABLE! But because I'm a crafty bastard, I'm going to attempt to work around it because, quite frankly, that scene was too beautiful to disclude. I wouldn't mind hearing any opinions you might have as well.

Moving on... Back to the Good Stuff.

**The Price of Bonds: Chapter 7 - The Opposite of Guilt**

_"I love you, Laxus. Take care of Fairy Tail for me. I'm counting on you."_

Laxus had been talking for an hour. He was tired, physically and emotionally spent. All he wanted to do was sit down, maybe fall asleep on his desk.

But he couldn't, not just yet. He had a job to finish.

He didn't like reflecting on the memories. It made a hard job more difficult. He was expected to remain objective and concise with this report, and to give any and all pertinent details. He had to have a clear head, but the report alone was bogging him down, forcing him to pick at wounds that hadn't quite healed.

After all, Where had he been when Fairy Tail had been attacked? He could have made a difference. he could have helped stop Tartarus. He could have... He could have...

He could have saved Gramps.

It was pathetic. He always failed to come through when his Grandfather needed him. When he needed all the strength he could gather to help fight off Phantom Lord? Too much trouble for the Grandson of the Year to lend a hand. When Gramps requested a powerful, mature wizard to lead by example? Laxus decided it was prudent to pitch a fit, force his guild mates to fight among themselves, and hold an entire town hostage. Now, he was asking Laxus to step up, to take charge and be the leader that Makarov thought he could be. How would this be any different? He wasn't a leader like his Grandfather. He wasn't wise or compassionate, patient or reliable... He was going to fail the old man again, for the final time and he hated himself for it.

After all, What shitty Grandson can't even follow through with his Grandpa's last request?

Laxus was careful, however, to keep any of these feelings from reaching the surface. He had to keep the image of power and pride at the fore, projecting Fairy Tail's undeniable strength with his very being. He couldn't breakdown in front of any of these other Guildmasters. He wasn't yet sure if he could trust any of them not to take advantage in some way, to use the weakness of the new Guildmaster against his wounded guild.

So his eyes were still impassive, his face still calm, and his jaw still set. The report continued, as if the protracted pause had never happened. Any and all concerned gestures were ignored, promptly.

"His sacrifice resulted in the dispersal of all Demons in the area. It saved Fairy Tail, Magnolia, and Fiore."

"And how do we know that?"

Roark, who'd no doubt been stewing in his own resentment for the past 60 minutes, decided to wag his forked tongue just long enough to spit on the grave of an honorable man, one last time.

The rest of the room was silent. But the tranquility belied the disapproval present on every face on the room, save one. Laxus remained passive. He wouldn't give in. He wouldn't hurt his Grandfather's... _His_ Guild's reputation by punching a hole through Roark's head, No matter how satisfying it would be. He was pretty proud of his control, though the worried looks Bob kept giving him made him think that he hadn't quite kept the rage from his face.

"Really! How do we know? You haven't given us any details. No evidence! You provided a bunch of unverifiable facts, ones you weren't even present to witness, before claiming that a corpse and a will prove that all our problems are solved!" Roark threw his hands up before slapping them back down on the table and using them as leverage, pushing himself to a stand. He snarled, a horrid expression on such a sunken, skeletal face, and pointed one boney claw at Laxus. "All you've proved today, is that foolishness and incompetence are heritable. I mean, Really?! The scary monsters are gone, so that means Grandpa must have saved us? Pfft."

"I disagree, Roark."

Goldmine was now standing. He walked towards the center of the circle, and carefully took his position between Laxus and Roark. "Had you been listening, rather than coming up with new ways to make an ass of yourself, You might have heard some of them."

Roark turned on Goldmine, mouth leaking venom, but whatever vile comment he was about to make dissolved into hot air. One of the Guildmasters next to him grabbed the edge of his waist coat and yanked him back down into his seat while he was still too gob smacked to protest or insult.

But Goldmine had already turned around to address Laxus. A quick glimpse of a small, proud smile. then it was back to business. "As it were, Laxus has done a fine job of providing us a synopsis of the events of the attack. There are still a number of reports to be given that will further corroborate Laxus' story."

"If Roark finds it in his heart to let them finish, that is," Bob added, jovial and innocuous as always. The placid way that the jibe was delivered only served to draw attention to it. It reminded Laxus of Mira, in a way.

Sting snorted to himself and smirked wryly. "He'd have to find _it,_ first."

And _that_ irreverent tone reminded him of himself. He was starting to like Sabertooth's Guildmaster by the day.

"Well, Roark?" Goldmine said with a withering tone, "Can we continue, or is there more you have too say?" The message was hammered in with brutal force. Roark was to shut-up and listen.

Roark gaped, and for a second Laxus believed he still hadn't caught on, but the Guildmaster eventually quieted.

"Good. Now if I recall correctly, Laxus said that you actually fought the Demon King, Sting. Is that true?"

"Hmph! That's right. Rogue and I showed up to recover our Lady from that sleezy bastard."

"Tell us what happened." Goldmine gestured toward the center of the room, but Sting didn't budge. He stayed seated, feet kicked up and hands behind his head.

"Hmm... Well..."

Laxus, who'd taken the opportunity to return to his own seat, was now leaning forward in earnest. He hadn't heard this story.

"We showed up just in time to rescue Lady Minerva from one of Marde Geer's attacks..."

"Marde Geer?" Was that his name? Laxus hadn't heard it from any of his Guildmates.

"Well, yeah?!" Sting scratched at his jaw indolently. "I'm pretty sure that was his name. He wouldn't stop saying it."

Laxus nodded in response. Sting paid him no further mind, after that.

"Anyway.. Like Laxus said, we sent Erza and Minerva off to go stop FACE while we kept the Demon King busy..."

* * *

"I have to admit... He was strong."

_"Absolutely pitiful." _

_Marde Geer was unmoved. Sting wiped at his lip with his sleeve. Rogue's eyes shifted, bathing Sting in concealed worry, but otherwise saying nothing._

_He'd been sporting a patronizing smirk since the fight started. Never once did it leave his face... because there hadn't been a moment where he'd been worried or out of control. He'd dominated the fight thus far, and he wanted them to know it. It was meant to break them, to fill them with fear._

_All it did was make Sting angry._

_This Bastard... He hurt Minerva... He twisted her, abused her, took advantage of her pain, then had the balls to try and kill her? He insulted her, Rogue, himself, as mages and as human beings._

_"Like vermin caught in the tide, you struggle and thrash against a force beyond you, and the only purpose it serves is to hasten your end. I would find it sad, if it weren't so amusing."_

_And he wouldn't _**fucking**_ shut up!_

_Sting gritted his teeth._

_He said nothing. Conveying any audible message would alert their enemy, allow him to brace himself or otherwise respond. Besides, he didn't need to. He and Rogue had been fighting alongside each other for years. If Sting initiated, Rogue would follow up with an appropriate response. _

_Sting charged forward with a bloodthirsty battlecry. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw a black shadow, flitting about alongside him. _

"Rogue and I, our teamwork was perfect. We synchronized our strikes to leave no room for response. But-"

_As they charged, the sinusoidal path that Rogue's shadow was following changed. It lifted from the dirt and began to spiral forward, ahead of Sting. The darkness radiated out, coiling around him until Sting was shrouded in black, murky magic. Sting smiled at his friend's ingenuity. It wasn't a technique they'd ever used before, but he understood what Rogue's plan was. He'd used his magic to turn them into a Shadow Drill of sorts._

_But the magic itself wasn't meant to do damage. It was meant to obscure. With all the shadows concealing his movements-_

_Sting rocketed forward, using all the speed he had to close the distance. He couldn't see any better from within the technique than Marde Geer could see from outside of it, so he had to trust that Rogue would guide him to the proper destination._

_"Now."_

_As instructed, Sting launched himself forward, cocking his fist back and throwing it forward with all of his might. shadows began to open in front of him. Black nebula surrounding him dispersed just as his knuckles were to contact the Demon King's face._

_But, as the shadows fell away from him as he threw his punch, flowing from his arms and shoulders like soot, Sting's eyes locked with his opponent's. _

_He was hoping for huge orbs, brimming with surprise. He searched for concern, for fear, for uncertainty, anything to inspire hope that the battle was finally turning in their favor._

_What he saw was boredom._

" -He deflected each and every one."

_Sting cried out with frustration, launching his fist at the demon to punish his flippant display of disregard. Marde Geer twisted to the side lazily, and Sting's wrist sailed right past his nose. _

_Sting's own eyes widened for a second, before narrowing in concentration. He jerked his arm back while aiming a knee at the demon's right upper thigh. Marde Geer didn't move, but Sting felt a tug on the other leg supporting him before he was jerked off his feet and left sprawling with his face in the dirt._

_Sting growled, and rolled into a sweep. The demon snorted, and casually stepped away from the maneuver. Anger getting the best of him, Sting leapt back to his feet and charged, arms aglow with holy, white energy._

_The Demon King smirked. He flicked his wrist languidly, middle and index finger extended. Thorny vines twisted and writhed from the earth surrounding the both of them and wrapped themselves around Sting's arms and throat._

_Rogue sprung from Sting's shadow, where he'd been hiding, in an attempt to intervene. His efforts were rewarded with a solid blow to his nose with Marde Geer's free hand, while the vines leashing Sting yanked him back and to the ground._

_"Ah, I see. Brute force failed you, so you turn to cunning for your salvation."_

_He lifted his arm skyward. The vines tossed Sting into the air. He swirled his hand about, and the vines twirled Sting in similar fashion. He slashed downward and to the right, sending Sting plummeting back to earth._

_"But such lowly creatures could never match the guile of the Etherious."_

"The worst part? He was playing around. Entertaining himself. He figured he could end it whenever he liked."

_"So... What will you do now, humans? I'm curious."_

_The vines slowly, deliberately unwrapped themselves from around Sting's neck. The Demon King didn't want to break his toys, not yet. But wear, such as the bleeding punctures encircling Sting's neck and arms, was inevitable._

_Rogue pushed himself up into a sitting position, still leaning on his arms, and glowered at the enemy. Marde Geer was unphased, even as the Shadow Dragon Slayer dissolved slowly into the blackness beneath him, gaze never faltering._

_Sting, rubbing at his throat, staggered to a stand. He spit before moving from his hunched posture to full height, rolling his shoulders as he did._

_"Well... I fig'r'ed I'd shove my boot up your ass. How's that?"_

_"You can try."_

_"I'll do more than that. I'm done goofing off. It's time to go to work."_

_Sting started to glow with a brilliant whit aura. White Drive had been activated._

_" I'll show you why I'm the Guildmaster of one of the strongest guilds in Fiore!"_

_Marde Geer chuckled. _

_"By all means.. Enlighten me." _

"We traded attacks in quick bursts, took a moment to spout some rhetorical jargon, then we'd dive back in to try punching again."

_Sting burst forward with all the speed he could muster. He threw punch after punch, forcing Marde Geer to play defensively. He was still dodging where he could, but the speed and offesive boosts that White Drive forced him to use his free hand to redirect most of the blows. With some satisfaction, Sting noticed that the smirk had been replaced with a serious look of concentration. In an attempt to catch him off guard, Sting used the momentum from a dodged left cross to transfer into a reverse roundhouse with his right foot. Marde was forced to bend low to dodge it, but he aimed a quick jab at Sting's left. The White Dragon Slayer flipped away from the attack and -_

_"White Dragon's Roar!"_

_- fired a potent beam of Holy Magic at the King of Darkness._

_Marde Geer immediately leapt to the side, sliding to a stop. Sting attempted to curve the beam, but Marde quickly threw his arm to the side, and the vines grabbed Sting by the arm and tugged him off balance, redirecting the beam away from its intended target._

_A murky mass whipped around from behind Marde Geer, slashing at him as it passed. It rounded on him again, and again, and again, making several passes in seconds. With his only free hand occupied with upholding the Curse that was restraining Sting, he wasn't able to react to the Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash. The Demon King quickly diverted his attention from Sting to deal with Rogue's assault, dropping his hand and turning, forcing Rogue to run into his palm, face first. He turned with the momentum, and tossed Rogue right into the gut of the charging Sting. _

_"How unfortunate. For a second I was worried I would see some real Dragon Slayer Magic. Lucky for me, you two don't seem to be capable."_

_Rogue's eyes narrowed. "How would you even know what real Dragon Slayer Magic is?"_

_He was right. This demon couldn't possibly have met that many Dragon Slayers. To whom was he comparing them to?_

_Marde Geer chuckled. and waved his hand about again. Rogue melted back into the shadows while Sting leapt to the side, just barely escaping the explosive technique._

"Neither strategy really helped us gain any ground."

_"Damn it... Damn it, damn it, damn it."_

_Sting hit the ground with his fist as he picked himself up and off of his stomach. _

_This wasn't going well. Not at all. That explodey-rose thing and those vines were reason enough not to give the enemy space. If Marde Geer had the time and range to throw curses at them, they wouldn't last long. The only way they were going to win this was by overwhelming him in close combat._

_But they'd been trying to do that the entire fight, and it hadn't worked. The Demon King was successfully holding them off with one hand._

"There was a moment... I wasn't... I don't know what I was thinking."

_Could they really win this? This guy was the toughest opponent they'd ever faced. He was stronger than Natsu, by far, and he'd been able to stomp them both at the same time. _

_And Natsu hadn't had any intention to kill them._

_What if they... what if they died? What would happen then? What would become of the guild?_

_Who would take care of Lector?_

_"No..."_

_He couldn't do that. It was unacceptable. He would never leave Lector alone like that._

_So it looked like he would just have to win._

"But It was Rogue that finally came up with a way to push him back."

_"Sting. This isn't working."_

_The voice of Rogue came from beneath him, within the shadows. _

_"I noticed. What's your plan."_

_Rogue rose from the shadows to stand beside Sting. Neither took their eyes off of the Demon King as they spoke._

"Y'see... He was faster than us, and he was stronger than us, But he was cradling this book. He only ever had one hand to fight us with."

_"We'll have to time this perfectly," Rogue continued. "All he needs is a second. If he can focus one of us, without the other taking advantage of his distraction immediately, then he wins the engagement."_

_"Got it."_

_Marde Geer chose to wait patiently for them to reorganize. But he didn't wait long. Sting and Rogue, surged forward, more determined than ever._

"That one hand, though more than enough to hold us off one at a time..."

_Sting threw a heavy punch, and Marde Geer leaned to the side to dodge. _

_"Disappointing. I hoped for more than the same -"_

_He was silenced by Rogue's jab to his right. Marde attempted to dance away from the Shadow Dragon Slayer, but he was boxed in by a Whit Dragon's Roar, aimed at where he would have been a second later._

_The Demon King was forced to stop his momentary retreat, and it allowed Rogue to leap right back on top of him. The Demon King frantically waved his hand, attempting to snare Rogue with his Curse, but the Dragon Slayer melted into shadows and continued to advance. Marde braced himself, but was caught off guard by the kick to the back of his knee, knocking him off balance. Rogue leapt out and jammed his knee into the demon's jaw and sent him reeling backward._

"... Wasn't enough to keep up with two simultaneous attacks."

_Sting swept his feet out from underneath him, leaving him airborne just long enough for Rogue to launch him back to earth with a Shadow Dragon's Slash to the abdomen. Marde Geer rolled with the blow, managing to get back to his feet just in time to have to hold off another flurry of strikes._

"We were winning-"

_Marde leapt backward to gain some distance. He lifted his hand quickly and then slashed it downward. Massive thorns erupted from the soil surrounding him, in an effort to hit Sting and Rogue while they tried to close. _

_A black streak weaved between the spires before disappearing into the shadows cast by the sun. Sting was nowhere in sight. _

_A shadow cast over him had the demon turn around immediately, just in time to see the White Dragon Slayer cast a deadly beam of white directly at him._

_"WHITE DRAGON'S HOLY BREATH!"_

_Marde Geer tried to leap away, to escape Sting's attack in any way possible, but his feet were held fast. He had just enough time to look down and see two pale hands, reaching from his shadow and holding his ankles in place, before he was swallowed by the light._

"... until I managed to land a White Dragon's Holy Breath..."

_"Haha! Rogue, it worked! We got 'im!"_

_The Shadow Dragon Slayer appeared next to Sting and nodded with a satisfied smirk of his own._

_The plan, constructed on the fly, had been simple, but elegant. Rogue had carried Sting with him from within the shadows, jumping from between the Shadows created by the thorns so that they couldn't be tracked. When they were finally able to move behind him without being detected, Rogue launched sting into the air, and then moved to hold the demon in place so that Sting would manage to land the attack effectively._

_It worked like a charm._

_They'd done it. They'd won._

_But the celebration was interrupted by a primal scream from within the crater. _

"It.. It did something. I don't know what, but it hurt him. Enough to take us seriously."

_Marde Geer stepped out of the dust cloud, shuddering in anguish. His skin, once pale, was now a puckered red color. His face, once so composed, was now feral. His cloak was in tatters. Each breath he took was ragged. Around his right hand, surrounding the book, was a crimson shield of Curse power. He slowly, laboriously, lowered himself to the ground and gently deposited the book, finally freeing his other hand, before raising back to his full height and glowering murderously._

_"You...You..._**harmed**_... Marde Geer."_

_Sting desperately wanted to tell him that that'd been the whole idea but, frankly, he was too scared to make any smart ass comments. Rogue took an involuntary step back._

_"I.. will... eradicate you... Slowly..."_

_The same aura that'd surrounded the book shimmered to life around the Demon King. Then he rocketed forth, covering 70 meters in seconds, and charging right into the two Dragon Slayers at break-neck speeds. _

"He stopped holding back. He nearly bashed my head open with his next strike."

_Sting attempted to swing at the mad demon, but he caught the fist and punched him in the face with it. Then he pulled on Sting's arm to jerk him right into the path of his own fist, sending Sting flying into a sprawl. Rogue watched him go, and his distraction was punished. Vines grabbed his ankles and wrists, binding him in place, while Marde Geer did the motions for the Rose explosion technique. The Rose formed around Rogue._

_"Die... __**filth**__."_

_"HOLY RAY!"_

_The beams of light arced toward the demon. Marde Geer deflected it with his fingers, sending the beams into the earth to the right of him, but the interruption allowed Rogue enough time to escape his bindings._

_Sting stood opposite the Demon King, eye swollen and breathing heavily. He spit the blood from his mouth. Rogue reappeared a distance away from the enemy in the opposite direction. _

_Sting nodded to Rogue. Rogue nodded back._

_They were outmatched. They needed to even the odds._

_"DRAGON FORCE!"_

* * *

"He was overwhelming us. We went Dragon Force to compensate... It closed the gap a bit, but that was it."

Sting was leaning forward now. He'd quickly shifted out of the relaxed posture he'd started the report in, in favor of the more somber, reflective one that he was in now. Laxus understood it. He'd been the same way after the encounter with Acnologia.

This was the humility of undeniable defeat. Being forced to come to terms with your own powerlessness, rubbing elbows with death itself... it was hard to come out of that without feeling introspective and exposed.

"It still wasn't enough to even the fight." Sting shook his head at that.

"But the weirdest thing happened... We were in the middle of the worst fight of our lives... being hand fed our own asses-" But then he raised his head and locked eyes with Laxus. He looked perplexed, with a dozen question hidden behind those pupils. "-When this tower of light appeared in the distance. When the Demon King turned to look at it..."

Tower of light? Wait... Sting and Rogue saw it too?

"He looked like he recognized it.. somehow. It terrified him."

Laxus tried to survey the reactions to this news. He had to know... did anyone else know what Sabertooth's Guildmaster was talking about?

"Rogue and I tried to take advantage of the distraction, tried to engage with our strongest technique, but-"

Goldmine was nodding ever now and again. It was the motions of someone that was listening intently, but they didn't expose any other knowledge. Bob look completely enraptured, and that had Laxus feeling a little less terrified. Onibaba was quiet and expressionless, as she had been the entire meeting.

"-it wasn't necessary. The Light disappeared... and then all we felt was this pull, like the air around us was being tugged toward the place the Light'd been."

A pull too? That had to be it. It was just like the other reports.

In the reports he'd collected, many of the fights had been interrupted, much like Sting and Rogue's had, by the sudden appearance of a huge pillar of Light in the distance.

"And the Demon King... He was pulled with it. He disintegrated... vaporized right in front of us."

Laxus winced. Gajeel claimed that their opponents, Torafusa and Tempesta, disappeared in a similar fashion. Natsu couldn't confirm that, as he'd been unconscious at the time, but Laxus trusted Gajeel enough to accept his account. Erza claimed to have witnessed the light as well, right before..

"So this light... Was this the effects of the lacrima you were talking about, Laxus?"

_Shit_

"I believe so."

"You _believe!" _ Roark sputtered, but Goldmine stared him down. Quatro Cerberus' Guildmaster turned back to Laxus.

"We'll need a bit more than that, son."

Laxus sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. Here it goes...

"Yes, Yes that was it. As I said, the Lacrima was used to dispose of the evil within Magnolia. Sting's account of the destruction of the Demon King confirms it. I also have similar reports from my underlings, who witnessed similar occurrences during their respective battles."

Goldmine folded his arms. Apparently, It would have been preferred that he'd added this tidbit of information to his original report.

"Gajeel Redfox, Erza Scarlet, Mirajane Strauss, and others... sir."

"So..this Lacrima. You were very nondescript about its effects, Laxus. What does it do precisely?"

"I've said all that I can on that."

Goldmine looked dissatisfied with that answer. He said nothing, but neither did he move on to other topics. Sting was watching Laxus very closely... He didn't like that.

Erza's report had been... less than pleasant. Minerva had been with her when Lumen Histoire was activated. As a demon of Tartarus... Makarov hadn't known that there would be any switching sides...

According to Erza's Report, Minerva was targeted by Lumen Histoire, like the other members of Tartarus, and like the other members of Tartarus..

She'd been destroyed.

Sting _had _ to know that. Two traumatized Exceeds where there to witness..

"Look, You've all worked with my Grandfather. You know, just like every guild, Fairy Tail has secrets that it would like kept secret. I've told you all that I can."

Goldmine did not look appeased, but he backed down. "Very well, then. Next We'll be discussing the teams dispatched to deal with the FACE constructs. Master Bob, If you'd please?"

Bob stood and moved to speak, but Laxus was too distracted to notice.

Sting was still looking at him. Laxus could tell they'd both been revisiting the same event at that moment, but felt entirely different emotions.

After all, Guilt and Blame were opposites, right?

* * *

Next time... I think I'll take a break from all this important back story stuffs and have fun with Natsu and Happy... or Maybe I'll explore some more Shipping Wangst... or maybe I'll just write a whole chapter about Ichiya. Who doesn't Like Ichiya, men?


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